Mesh network transmission decisions based on node performance metrics

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for transmission of data through mesh networks are disclosed. Specifically, various techniques and systems are provided for using performance metrics of nodes in a mesh network to make data transmission decisions. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include a computer-implemented method. The method comprises receiving, at a network device on a network, performance metrics associated with an additional network device on the network; generating performance metrics associated with the network device; storing the performance metrics associated with the network device and the performance metrics associated with the additional network device; and transmitting the performance metrics associated with the network device and the performance metrics associated with an additional network device, wherein when the performance metrics are received, the performance metrics are used to determine whether data will be transmitted to the network device.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to transmission of data through meshnetworks. Specifically, various techniques and systems are provided forusing performance metrics of nodes in a mesh network to make datatransmission decisions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention include acomputer-implemented method. The method comprises receiving, at anetwork device on a network, performance metrics associated with anadditional network device on the network; generating performance metricsassociated with the network device; storing the performance metricsassociated with the network device and the performance metricsassociated with the additional network device; and transmitting theperformance metrics associated with the network device and theperformance metrics associated with an additional network device,wherein when the performance metrics are received, the performancemetrics are used to determine whether data will be transmitted to thenetwork device.

Alternative exemplary embodiments of the present invention include acomputing device. The computing device comprises one or more processors;and a memory having instructions stored thereon, which when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the computing device to performoperations. The operations include receiving, at a network device on anetwork, performance metrics associated with an additional networkdevice on the network; generating performance metrics associated withthe network device; storing the performance metrics associated with thenetwork device and the performance metrics associated with theadditional network device; and transmitting the performance metricsassociated with the network device and the performance metricsassociated with an additional network device, wherein when theperformance metrics are received, the performance metrics are used todetermine whether data will be transmitted to the network device.

Alternative exemplary embodiments of the present invention include anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructionsstored thereon. When executed by a computing device, the instructionscause the computing device to receive, at a network device on a network,performance metrics associated with an additional network device on thenetwork; generate performance metrics associated with the networkdevice; store the performance metrics associated with the network deviceand the performance metrics associated with the additional networkdevice; and transmit the performance metrics associated with the networkdevice and the performance metrics associated with an additional networkdevice, wherein when the performance metrics are received, theperformance metrics are used to determine whether data will betransmitted to the network device.

This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolationto determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject mattershould be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entirespecification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

The foregoing, together with other features and embodiments, will becomemore apparent upon referring to the following specification, claims, andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the following drawing figures:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example of a wireless networkenvironment in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forregistering one or more network devices in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a network environment, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a network environment, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a network environment, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a network including a plurality of network devices,according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a mesh network including nodes and communicationpaths/links, according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a mesh network including nodes transmitting data,such as performance metrics, to each other, according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates tables that include a compilation of exemplaryperformance metrics for two nodes in a mesh network, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates tables that include a compilation of exemplaryperformance metrics for five nodes in a mesh network, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates tables that include a compilation of exemplaryperformance metrics for two nodes in a mesh network, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a mesh network including five nodes, according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates tables that include a compilation of exemplaryperformance metrics for the nodes in a mesh network, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates a mesh network including four nodes, according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates a mesh network including four nodes, according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 16 illustrates a mesh network including five nodes and an accessdevice and computer device connected to a node in the mesh network,according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates tables that include two decision profiles, accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates a WiFi beacon frame, according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 illustrates a flow chart including an exemplary process forgenerating and sharing performance metrics among network devices, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates a flow chart including an exemplary process forgenerating and sharing performance metrics among network devices, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates a flow chart including an exemplary process forreceiving and sharing performance metrics among network devices, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 22 illustrates a flow chart including an exemplary process forgenerating and sharing performance metrics among network devices, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 23 is an illustration of an example of a front view of a networkdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an illustration of an example of a side view of a networkdevice in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 25 is an example of a block diagram of a network device, inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an access device,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a server, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a gateway, inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent that variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figuresand description are not intended to be restrictive.

The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of thedisclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodimentswill provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description forimplementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood thatvarious changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elementswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

Specific details are given in the following description to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments maybe practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits,systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown ascomponents in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodimentsin unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits,processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown withoutunnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as aprocess which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but could have additional steps notincluded in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function,a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination can correspond to a return of thefunction to the calling function or the main function.

The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer-readable storagemedium” includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portablestorage devices, optical storage devices, and various other mediumscapable of storing, containing, or carrying instruction(s) and/or data.A machine-readable medium may include a non-transitory medium in whichdata can be stored and that does not include carrier waves and/ortransitory electronic signals propagating wirelessly or over wiredconnections. Examples of a non-transitory medium may include, but arenot limited to, a magnetic disk or tape, optical storage media such ascompact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD), flash memory, memoryor memory devices. A computer-program product may include code and/ormachine-executable instructions that may represent a procedure, afunction, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, asoftware package, a class, or any combination of instructions, datastructures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled toanother code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receivinginformation, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents.Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded,or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, messagepassing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or anycombination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middlewareor microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessarytasks (e.g., a computer-program product) may be stored in amachine-readable medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks.

Systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in variousconfigurations. In some embodiments, the systems may be configured as adistributed system where one or more components of the system aredistributed across one or more networks in a cloud computing system.

A network may be set up to provide an access device user with access tovarious devices connected to the network. For example, a network mayinclude one or more network devices that provide a user with the abilityto remotely configure or control one or more electronic devices (e.g.,appliances) within an environment that can support the network. Anenvironment can include, for example, a home, an office, a business, anautomobile, a park, or the like. A network may include one or moregateways that allow client devices (e.g., network devices, accessdevices, or the like) to access the network by providing wiredconnections and/or wireless connections using radio frequency channelsin one or more frequency bands. The one or more gateways may alsoprovide the client devices with access to one or more external networks,such as a cloud network, the Internet, and/or other wide area networks.

A local area network, such as a user's home local area network, caninclude multiple network devices that provide various functionalities.Network devices may be accessed and controlled using an access deviceand/or one or more network gateways. One or more gateways in the localarea network may be designated as a primary gateway that provides thelocal area network with access to an external network. The local areanetwork can also extend outside of the user's home and may includenetwork devices located outside of the user's home. For instance, thelocal area network can include network devices such as exterior motionsensors, exterior lighting (e.g., porch lights, walkway lights, securitylights, or the like), garage door openers, sprinkler systems, or othernetwork devices that are exterior to the user's home. It is desirablefor a user to be able to access the network devices while located withinthe local area network and also while located remotely from the localarea network. For example, a user may access the network devices usingan access device within the local area network or remotely from thelocal area network.

In some embodiments, a user may create an account with login informationthat is used to authenticate the user and allow access to the networkdevices. For example, once an account is created, a user may enter thelogin information in order to access a network device in a logicalnetwork.

In some embodiments, an accountless authentication process may beperformed so that the user can access one or more network devices withina logical network without having to enter network device logincredentials each time access is requested. While located locally withinthe local area network, an access device may be authenticated based onthe access device's authentication with the logical network. Forexample, if the access device has authorized access to the logicalnetwork (e.g., a WiFi network provided by a gateway), the networkdevices paired with that logical network may allow the access device toconnect to them without requiring a login. Accordingly, only users ofaccess devices that have authorization to access the logical network areauthorized to access network devices within the logical network, andthese users are authorized without having to provide login credentialsfor the network devices.

An accountless authentication process may also be performed when theuser is remote so that the user can access network devices within thelogical network, using an access device, without having to enter networkdevice login credentials. While remote, the access device may access thenetwork devices in the local area network using an external network,such as a cloud network, the Internet, or the like. One or more gatewaysmay provide the network devices and/or access device connected to thelocal area network with access to the external network. To allowaccountless authentication, a cloud network server may provide a networkID and/or one or more keys to a network device and/or to the accessdevice (e.g., running an application, program, or the like). In somecases, a unique key may be generated for the network device and aseparate unique key may be generated for the access device. The keys maybe specifically encrypted with unique information identifiable only tothe network device and the access device. The network device and theaccess device may be authenticated using the network ID and/or eachdevice's corresponding key each time the network device or access deviceattempts to access the cloud network server.

In some embodiments, a home local area network may include a singlegateway, such as a router. A network device within the local areanetwork may pair with or connect to the gateway and may obtaincredentials from the gateway. For example, when the network device ispowered on, a list of gateways that are detected by the network devicemay be displayed on an access device (e.g., via an application, program,or the like installed on and executed by the access device). In thisexample, only the single gateway is included in the home local areanetwork (e.g., any other displayed gateways may be part of other localarea networks). In some embodiments, only the single gateway may bedisplayed (e.g., when only the single gateway is detected by the networkdevice). A user may select the single gateway as the gateway with whichthe network device is to pair and may enter login information foraccessing the gateway. The login information may be the same informationthat was originally set up for accessing the gateway. The access devicemay send the login information to the network device and the networkdevice may use the login information to pair with the gateway. Thenetwork device may then obtain the credentials from the gateway. Thecredentials may include a service set identification (SSID) of the homelocal area network, a media access control (MAC) address of the gateway,and/or the like. The network device may transmit the credentials to aserver, such as a cloud network server. In some embodiments, the networkdevice may also send to the server information relating to the networkdevice (e.g., MAC address, serial number, or the like) and/orinformation relating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serialnumber, application unique identifier, or the like).

The cloud network server may register the gateway as a logical networkand may assign the first logical network a network identifier (ID). Thecloud network server may further generate a set of security keys, whichmay include one or more security keys. For example, the server maygenerate a unique key for the network device and a separate unique keyfor the access device. The server may associate the network device andthe access device with the logical network by storing the network ID andthe set of security keys in a record or profile. The cloud networkserver may then transmit the network ID and the set of security keys tothe network device. The network device may store the network ID and itsunique security key. The network device may also send the network ID andthe access device's unique security key to the access device. Thenetwork device and the access device may then communicate with the cloudserver using the network ID and the unique key generated for eachdevice. Accordingly, the user may remotely access the network device viathe cloud network without logging in each time access is requested.Also, the network device can communicate with the server regarding thelogical network.

In some embodiments, a local area network may include multiple gateways(e.g., a router and a range extender) and multiple network devices. Forexample, a local area network may include a first gateway paired with afirst network device, and a second gateway paired with a second networkdevice. In the event credentials for each gateway are used to create alogical network, a server (e.g., a cloud network server) may registerthe first gateway as a first logical network and may register the secondgateway as a second logical network. The server may generate a firstnetwork ID and a first set of security keys for the first logicalnetwork. The first set of security keys may include a unique securitykey for the first network device and a unique security key for theaccess device for use in accessing the first network device on the firstlogical network. The server may register the second gateway as thesecond logical network due to differences in the credentials between thefirst gateway and second gateway. The server may assign the secondgateway a second network ID and may generate a second set of securitykeys. For example, the server may generate a unique security key for thesecond network device and may generate a unique security key for theaccess device for use in accessing the second network device on thesecond logical network. The server may associate the first networkdevice and the access device with the first logical network by storingthe first network ID and the first set of security keys in a firstrecord or profile. The server may also associate the second networkdevice and the access device with the second logical network by storingthe second network ID and the second set of security keys in a record orprofile. The server may then transmit the first network ID and the firstset of security keys to the first network device, and may transmit thesecond network ID and the second set of security keys to the secondnetwork device. The two network devices may store the respective networkID and set of security keys of the gateway with which each networkdevice is connected. Each network device may send the respective networkID and the access device's unique security key to the access device. Thenetwork devices and the access device may then communicate with thecloud server using the respective network ID and the unique keygenerated for each device.

Accordingly, when multiple gateways are included in the home local areanetwork, multiple logical networks associated with different networkidentifiers may be generated for the local area network. When the accessdevice is located within range of both gateways in the local areanetwork, there is no problem accessing both network devices due to theability of the access device to perform local discovery techniques(e.g., universal plug and play (UPnP)). However, when the user islocated remotely from the local area network, the access device may onlybe associated with one logical network at a time, which prevents theaccess device from accessing network devices of other logical networkswithin the local area network.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a local area network 100. The localarea network 100 includes network device 102, network device 104, andnetwork device 106. In some embodiments, the network devices 102, 104,106 may include home automation network devices that allow a user toaccess, control, and/or configure various home appliances located withinthe user's home (e.g., a television, radio, light, fan, humidifier,sensor, microwave, iron, and/or the like), or outside of the user's home(e.g., exterior motion sensors, exterior lighting, garage door openers,sprinkler systems, or the like). For example, network device 102 mayinclude a home automation switch that may be coupled with a homeappliance. In some embodiments, network devices such as a homeautomation network device may be used in other environments, such as abusiness, a school, an establishment, a park, or any place that cansupport the local area network 100 to enable communication with networkdevices. For example, a network device can allow a user to access,control, and/or configure devices, such as office-related devices (e.g.,copy machine, printer, fax machine, or the like), audio and/or videorelated devices (e.g., a receiver, a speaker, a projector, a DVD player,a television, or the like), media-playback devices (e.g., a compact discplayer, a CD player, or the like), computing devices (e.g., a homecomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a computing device, a wearable device, or the like), lightingdevices (e.g., a lamp, recessed lighting, or the like), devicesassociated with a security system, devices associated with an alarmsystem, devices that can be operated in an automobile (e.g., radiodevices, navigation devices), and/or the like.

A user may communicate with the network devices 102, 104, 106 using anaccess device 108. The access device 108 may include anyhuman-to-machine interface with network connection capability thatallows access to a network. For example, the access device 108 mayinclude a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellular telephone, asmartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device such as asmart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), an interface that isbuilt into an appliance or other device e.g., a television, arefrigerator, a security system, a game console, a browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., a Kinect™ sensor, aWiimote™, or the like), an internet of things (IoT) device interface(e.g., an Internet enabled appliance such as a wall switch, a controlinterface, or the like). While only a single access device 108 is shownin FIG. 1, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatmultiple access devices may communicate with the network devices 102,104, 106. The user may interact with the network devices 102, 104, or106 using an application, a web browser, a proprietary program, or anyother program executed and operated by the access device 108. In someembodiments, the access device 108 may communicate directly with thenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 (e.g., communication signal 116). Forexample, the access device 108 may communicate directly with networkdevice 102, 104, 106 using Zigbee™ signals, Bluetooth™ signals, WiFi™signals, infrared (IR) signals, or the like. In some embodiments, theaccess device 108 may communicate with the network devices 102, 104, 106via the gateways 110, 112 (e.g., communication signal 118) and/or thecloud network 114 (e.g., communication signal 120).

The local area network 100 may include a wireless network, a wirednetwork, or a combination of a wired and wireless network. A wirelessnetwork may include any wireless interface or combination of wirelessinterfaces (e.g., Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, WiFi™, IR, cellular, long-termevolution (LTE), WiMax™, or the like). A wired network may include anywired interface (e.g., fiber, ethernet, powerline ethernet, ethernetover coaxial cable, digital signal line (DSL), or the like). The wiredand/or wireless networks may be implemented using various routers,access points, bridges, gateways, or the like, to connect devices in thelocal area network 100. For example, the local area network may includegateway 110 and gateway 112. Gateway 110 or 112 can providecommunication capabilities to network devices 102, 104, 106 and/oraccess device 108 via radio signals in order to provide communication,location, and/or other services to the devices. While two gateways 110and 112 are shown in FIG. 1, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that any number of gateways may be present within the localarea network 100.

The network access provided by gateway 110 and gateway 112 may be of anytype of network familiar to those skilled in the art that can supportdata communications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols. For example, gateways 110, 112 may provide wirelesscommunication capabilities for the local area network 100 usingparticular communications protocols, such as WiFi™ (e.g., IEEE 802.11family standards, or other wireless communication technologies, or anycombination thereof). Using the communications protocol(s), the gateways110, 112 may provide radio frequencies on which wireless enabled devicesin the local area network 100 can communicate. A gateway may also bereferred to as a base station, an access point, Node B, Evolved Node B(eNodeB), access point base station, a Femtocell, home base station,home Node B, home eNodeB, or the like. The gateways 110, 112 may includea router, a modem, a range extender, and/or any other device thatprovides network access among one or more computing devices and/orexternal networks. For example, gateway 110 may include a router andgateway 112 may include a range extender.

The gateways 110 and 112 may also provide the access device 108 and thenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 with access to one or more externalnetworks, such as the cloud network 114, the Internet, and/or other widearea networks. The cloud network 114 may include a cloud infrastructuresystem that provides cloud services. In certain embodiments, servicesprovided by the cloud network 114 may include a host of services thatare made available to users of the cloud infrastructure system ondemand, such as registration and access control of network devices 102,104, 106. Services provided by the cloud infrastructure system candynamically scale to meet the needs of its users. The cloud network 114may comprise one or more computers, servers, and/or systems. In someembodiments, the computers, servers, and/or systems that make up thecloud network 114 are different from the user's own on-premisescomputers, servers, and/or systems. For example, the cloud network 114may host an application, and a user may, via a communication networksuch as the Internet, on demand, order and use the application.

In some embodiments, the cloud network 114 may host a Network AddressTranslation (NAT) Traversal application in order to establish a secureconnection between the cloud network 114 and one or more of the networkdevices 102, 104, 106. For example, a separate secure TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP) connection may be established by each networkdevice 102, 104, 106 for communicating between each network device 102,104, 106 and the cloud network 114. In some embodiments, each secureconnection may be kept open for an indefinite period of time so that thecloud network 114 can initiate communications with each respectivenetwork device 102, 104, or 106 at any time. In some cases, other typesof communications between the cloud network 114 and the network devices102, 104, 106 and/or the access device 108 may be supported using othertypes of communication protocols, such as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP) protocol, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol,or the like. In some embodiments, communications initiated by the cloudnetwork 114 may be conducted over the TCP connection, and communicationsinitiated by a network device may be conducted over a HTTP or HTTPSconnection. In certain embodiments, the cloud network 114 may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner.

It should be appreciated that the local area network 100 may have othercomponents than those depicted. Further, the embodiment shown in thefigure is only one example of a local area network that may incorporatean embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments, local areanetwork 100 may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure,may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

Upon being powered on or reset, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may beregistered with the cloud network 114 and associated with a logicalnetwork within the local area network 100. FIG. 2 illustrates an exampleof a process 200 for registering one or more network devices, such asthe network devices 102, 104, 106 illustrated in FIG. 1. When multiplenetwork devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110, 112 are included withina local area network, the network devices and/or gateways may beinstalled at different times, resulting in the techniques described withrespect to FIG. 2 possibly occurring for each network device and/orgateway at different points in time. For example, a user may installnetwork device 102 at a first point in time on a first floor of theuser's house. Gateway 110 may also be located on the first floor,resulting in the network device 102 pairing with gateway 110. The usermay later install gateway 112 and network device 106 on a second floorof the user's home, resulting in the network device 106 pairing withgateway 112.

At 202, a network device may detect one or more gateways upon beingpowered on or reset. In some embodiments, a provisioning process mayoccur when the network device is powered on or reset and detected by anaccess device (e.g., access device 108). During the provisioningprocess, the access device may directly communicate with the networkdevice. In some embodiments, direct communication between networkdevices (e.g., network devices 102, 104, 106) and access device (e.g.,access device 108) may occur using various communications protocols,such as Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®,Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE),sound frequencies, and/or the like.

The provisioning process may include pairing the network device with agateway and registering the gateway, network device, and access devicewith a server, such as a server located within the cloud network 114.For example, upon being powered on or reset to factory settings, thenetwork device may send or broadcast identification information to oneor more access devices. The identification information may be sentduring a discovery process. For example, the identification informationmay be sent in response to a discovery request from an access device. Insome cases, the identification information may include a name of thenetwork device.

An application, program, or the like that is installed on and executedby the access device may receive the identification information from thenetwork device. When the application on the access device is launched bya user, the access device may display the identification information forselection by the user. Once the network device identificationinformation is selected, the access device may send a signal to thenetwork device indicating that it has been selected. The network devicemay then send to the access device a list of gateways that are detectedby the network device. The access device may receive and display thelist of gateways. In some embodiments, the list of gateways includesmultiple gateways (e.g., gateways 110 and 112) that are located withinthe local area network. The user may select the gateway that the userwishes for the network device to pair. For example, the gateway thatprovides the best signal strength for the network device may beselected. The access device may then prompt the user to enter logininformation that is required for accessing the network signals providedby the selected gateway. For example, the login information may be thesame information that was originally set up to access the gatewaynetwork signals (e.g., when the gateway was initially installed). Onceentered, the access device may send the login information to the networkdevice. The network device may use the login information to pair withthe selected gateway. As one example, network device 102 and networkdevice 104 may be paired with gateway 110, and network device 106 may bepaired with gateway 112.

Once paired with a gateway, the network device may be registered with acloud network (e.g., cloud network 114). For example, the access device(e.g., via the application, program, or the like) may instruct thenetwork device to register with the cloud network upon receivingconfirmation from the network device that it has been successfullypaired with a gateway. At 204, the network device may obtain credentialsfrom the gateway as part of the registration process. For example,network device 102 may obtain credentials from gateway 110. At a same orlater point in time, network devices 104 and 106 may obtain credentialsfrom gateways 110 and 112, respectively. In some embodiments, thecredentials may include a SSID of the local area network and a MACaddress of the gateway. An SSID received from two gateways (e.g.,gateways 110, 112) may be the same due to the gateways both being withinthe same local area network. In some cases, the SSID of the two gatewaysmay be different. The MAC address of each of the gateways may be uniqueto each gateway. As a result of each gateway having a unique MACaddress, the credentials obtained from a gateway may be unique to thatparticular gateway. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other credentials may be obtained from a gateway, such as anInternet Protocol address, or the like.

The network device may then send the gateway credentials to the cloudnetwork at 206. For example, the network devices 102, 104, 106 may sendcredentials for the gateway with which each is paired to the serverlocated within the cloud network 114. For example, network device 102may transmit the credentials obtained from gateway 110 to the server,and network device 106 may transmit the credentials obtained fromgateway 112 to the server. In some embodiments, the network device mayalso send information relating to the network device (e.g., MAC address,serial number, make, model number, firmware version, and/or an interfacemodule identifier, or the like) to the server, and/or informationrelating to the access device (e.g., MAC address, serial number,application unique identifier, or the like) to the server. In someembodiments, the communication of the credentials, the network deviceinformation, and/or the access device information sent from the networkdevice to the cloud network server may be in a Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP) format, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)format, a secure Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) format, or thelike. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that othercommunication formats may be used to communicate between the networkdevice and the cloud network server.

Once the credentials, network device information, and/or access deviceinformation are received by the server, the server may register eachgateway as a logical network within the local area network and maygenerate a network ID for each logical network. For example, the servermay register the gateway 110 as a first logical network. During theregistration process, the server may generate a first network ID foridentifying the first logical network. As noted above, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that any number of gateways may bepresent within the local area network, and thus that any number oflogical networks may be registered for the local area network. Theserver may further generate a first set of security keys forauthenticating the network device and the access device. For example,the server may generate a unique key for the network device 102 and aseparate unique key for the access device 108.

In some embodiments, as previously described, network device 104 mayalso be paired with gateway 110 at the same or a later point in time asthe network device 102. During registration of the network device 104,the server may determine that the access device 108 has already beenregistered with another network device (e.g., network device 102) thatis associated with the same logical network of gateway 110. In suchembodiments, the server may retrieve the first network ID that was usedin registering the first logical network. The server may also generate anew unique security key for the network device 104, and may retrieve theunique key that was previously generated for the access device 108 whenregistering the gateway 110 as the first logical network.

The gateway 112 may also be registered by the server as a second logicalnetwork with a second network ID. A second set of security keys may begenerated for the network device 106 and the access device 108. Forexample, the server may generate a unique security key for the networkdevice 106 and a unique security key for the access device 108 as itrelates to the second logical network. In some embodiments, the gatewaymay 112 be installed at a later point in time after the gateway 110 isinstalled, and thus may be registered as the second logical network atthe later point in time.

A record or profile may then be created for associating each network IDwith the credentials of a corresponding gateway, the correspondingnetwork device(s), and the access device. For example, the server of thecloud network 114 may associate the first network ID with thecredentials of gateway 110. Similarly, the server may associate thesecond network ID with the credentials of gateway 112. In someembodiments, the server performs the association by generating andstoring a record including the network ID, the set of security keys, thegateway credentials, the network devices associated with the network ID(e.g., MAC address or serial number of a network device), the accessdevices associated with the network ID (e.g., MAC address, serialnumber, application unique identifier, or the like), and/or any otherinformation relevant to the network devices and/or gateways. Forexample, the server may store the first network ID and the first set ofsecurity keys in a first record at a first memory space (e.g., in Flash,DRAM, a database, or the like) along with the SSID and MAC address forgateway 110 and an identifier of the network devices 102 and/or 104. Theserver may also store the second network ID and the second set ofsecurity keys in a second record at a second memory space along with theSSID and MAC address for gateway 112 and an identifier of the networkdevice 106. In some embodiments, an example of a network deviceidentifier may include a MAC address of the network device, a serialnumber of the network device, or any other unique identifier.

Each of the first and second network IDs may include a unique number oralphanumeric string generated sequentially or randomly. For example, thefirst time a network device and an associated gateway are registered onthe cloud network 114, the unique network ID for the logical network ofthe gateway may start with 7000000. Each subsequent logical network thatis created may be a sequential increment of the initial network ID(e.g., 7000001, 7000002, 7000003, etc.). As another example, the networkID may be generated by a random or pseudo-random number generator. Oneof ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other techniques forgenerating a unique ID may be used. The technique used to generate thenetwork IDs may be dependent on a type of database that is included inthe cloud network 114. For example, different databases may havedifferent proprietary mechanisms for creating a unique identifier.

The set of keys generated for each logical network may be generatedusing database specific technique. For example, a MySQL technique may beused to generate the sets of keys. Each key may include a universallyunique identifier (UUID) or a globally unique identifier (GUID). Asdescribed above, for each logical network, the server may generate aunique key for a network device and a separate unique key for an accessdevice.

At 208, the network device may receive the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys. For example, once the server has generated a record orprofile associating the network device 102 with the first logicalnetwork, the server may transmit the first network ID and the first setof security keys to the network device 102. The network device 102 maystore the first network ID and one or more keys of the first set ofkeys. For example, the network device 102 may store the unique securitykey that was created by the server for the network device 102.

As noted previously, the network devices 102, 104, 106 and gateways 110,112 may be installed at different times. For example, in someembodiments, network device 104 may be installed at a point in timeafter the first logical network is created based on the pairing betweengateway 110 and network device 102. In such embodiments, upon beingpowered on, the network device 104 may pair with gateway 110, obtaincredentials from gateway 110, and transmit the credentials to the serverin the cloud network 114 using similar techniques as those describedabove. The server may associate the network device 104 with thepreviously generated first network ID. As described above, the servermay also generate a new unique security key for the network device 104,and may retrieve the unique key that was previously generated for theaccess device 108 when registering the first logical network. Thenetwork device 104 may then receive and store the first network ID andthe security keys from the server.

At 210, the network device may send the network ID and the set ofsecurity keys to the access device. For example, the network device 102may send to the access device 108 the first network ID and the uniquesecurity key generated for the access device 108. The network device 102and the access device 108 may then communicate with the cloud networkserver using the first network ID and each device's unique key. In someembodiments, the network device and the access device may generate asignature using their respective security key. The signature is sent tothe cloud network server along with a communication from the networkdevice or access device. The cloud network server may process thesignature in order to authenticate each device, as described below. Thenetwork device and access device may use different techniques togenerate a signature.

A network device may generate a signature using its uniquely generatedsecurity key. For example, the signature may be expressed as:Authorization=MacAddress“:”Signature“:”ExpirationTime. The Authorizationterm may be an attribute, and the MacAddress, Signature, andExpirationTime terms may include values for the Authorization attribute.In particular, the MacAddress value may include the MAC address of thenetwork device, which may include a unique alphanumeric or numericstring. The network device may retrieve its MAC address from memory andplace it in the MacAddress field. The Signature value may be expressedas: Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). The Signaturevalue may include an alphanumeric or numeric string. HMAC-SHA1 is anopen source technique that includes a Hash-based Message AuthenticationCode (HMAC) using a SHA1 hash function. The HMAC-SHA1 technique uses thevalues PrivateKey and StringToSign as inputs. The PrivateKey inputincludes the unique security key that was generated by the server forthe network device. The StringToSign input may be expressed asStringToSign=MacAddress+“\n”+SerialNumber+“\n”+ExpirationTime.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending a serialnumber of the network device and an expiration time to the networkdevice's MAC address. The ExpirationTime term may indicate the period oftime for which the signature is valid. In some embodiments, theExpirationTime term may include a current time at which the signature isgenerated plus period of time for which the signature is valid. In oneexample, the ExpirationTime term may be expressed asExpirationTime=Number of seconds since Jan. 1, 1970.

The network device may place the signature in a data packet fortransmission with a communication signal to the cloud network server.The network device may also place the network ID in the data packet. Thesignature and the network ID, if included, may be used by the cloudnetwork server to verify that the network device is associated with thelogical network. In some embodiments, a signature is provided with eachcommunication sent from the network device to the server. Once thesignature is received by the server, the server generates a signatureusing the same expression as that used by the network device. Forexample, the server may retrieve the network device's key and otherrelevant information from storage and generate the signature using thekey and the other information using the expression described above. Theserver then verifies whether the signatures match. Upon determining thatthe signatures match, the server authenticates the network device'scommunication.

An access device may also generate a signature using its uniquelygenerated security key. For example, the access device signature may beexpressed as: Authorization=SDU UniqueId“:”Signature“:”ExpirationTime.The Authorization term may be an attribute, and the SDU UniqueId,Signature, and ExpirationTime terms may include values for theAuthorization attribute. The SDU UniqueId term may include a uniquephone identifier. The SDU UniqueId value may depend on the type ofaccess device that is used and the type of values that may be accessedand/or generated by the type of access device. In some cases, one typeof access device may not allow an application to access a uniqueidentifier of the access device (e.g., a serial number, UUID, or thelike). In such cases, the SDU UniqueId value may include a valuegenerated by an application or program installed on and executed on theaccess device that is used to access the network device. The value maybe unique to the application or program that generated the value. Inother cases, another type of access device may allow an application toaccess a unique identifier of the access device. In such cases, the SDUUniqueId value may include a value that is unique to the access deviceitself, such as a serial number, UUID, or the like. In this example, theaccess device may retrieve the unique value from storage within theaccess device. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate thatother unique identifiers may be used to uniquely identify the accessdevice. The Signature value may be expressed as:Signature=Base64(HMAC-SHA1(PrivateKey, StringToSign)). Using thisexpression, the input to the HMAC-SHA1 technique may include aPrivateKey term and a StringToSign term. The PrivateKey input includesthe unique security key that was generated by the server for the accessdevice with regard to a particular logical network. The StringToSigninput may be expressed as StringToSign=UniqueId+“\n”+“\n”+ExpirationTime. The StringToSign value is different from the StringToSign valuegenerated by network device in that no serial number is included.Accordingly, the StringToSign input is generated by appending anexpiration time to the access device's unique identifier. TheExpirationTime term may indicate the period of time for which thesignature is valid, similar to that above for the signature generated bythe network device.

The access device may place the signature in a data packet and maytransmit the data packet to the cloud network server with acommunication signal. The network device may also place the network IDin the data packet. The signature and the network ID, if included, maybe used by the cloud network server to verify that the access device isassociated with the logical network and authorized to communicate withone or more network devices associated with the logical network. In someembodiments, a signature is provided with each communication sent fromthe access device to the server. The cloud server may receive thesignature and may generate a signature using the same expression as thatused by the access device. For example, the server may retrieve theaccess device's key and other relevant information from storage andgenerate the signature using the key and the other information using theexpression described above. The server then verifies whether thesignatures match. Upon determining that the signatures match, the serverauthenticates the access device and allows it to communicate with one ormore of the network devices associated with logical network.

Once the provisioning process is completed, the access device 108 mayaccess the network device 102 locally via the gateway 110 (e.g.,communication signal 118) or remotely via the cloud network 114 (e.g.,communication signal 120). In some embodiments, the communicationbetween the access device 108 and the cloud network 114 may be a HTTP orHTTPS communication. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat other communication mechanisms may be used to communicate betweenthe access device 108 and the cloud network 114.

The network 100 may enable a user to monitor and/or control operation ofthe devices 102 and 104. For example, a user may monitor and/or controloperation of devices by interacting with a visual interface of thegateway 110 (i.e., a web page for gateway 110) and/or a visual interfacerendered on a display of an access device, such as access device 108. Insome embodiments, an application may be run on the access device. Theapplication may cause the access device to present a graphical interfacethat includes a visual interface for each device accessible on thenetwork 100.

A network device may generate and/or provide a “status” of the networkdevice. In certain embodiments, the status or state of a network devicecan be indicated on a visual interface on the access device, for examplewithin the tile with text and/or graphically. The status of the networkdevice can change based on time (e.g., a period, an interval, or othertime schedule). The status of a network device may be any piece ofinformation pertinent to that particular network device. The status of anetwork device may be any changeable variable of that particular networkdevice. For example, the status of a network device may include a stateof the network device itself (e.g., on or off) or how the network deviceis situated within the network with respect to the other network andother network devices throughout the network. For example, the status ofa network device may refer to the network device's proximity to anothernetwork device and/or its ability to communicate with another networkdevice because of the relative signal strength between the two networkdevices. In certain embodiments, the status can include a value or someother information indicating a unit of measure for a setting or anattribute related to operation of a device connected to the networkdevice. The setting or the attribute can be adjustable within a range ofvalues. For example, the device connected to the network device can be alight bulb and the status can include a value corresponding tobrightness (e.g., a percentage of total brightness) emitted by the lightbulb when the light bulb is powered-on. In another example, the devicecan be a motion sensor and the status can include a value correspondingto sensitivity of the sensor in a range of values between 0 to 100 whenthe sensor is powered-on. In yet another example, the device can be afan and the status can include a value corresponding to a speed of thefan on a scale of 0 to 100 when the fan is powered-on.

As described above, upon being powered on or reset, the network devices102 and/or 104 may be registered with the cloud network 114 andassociated with a logical network within the local area network 100.Similarly, upon being powered or switched off or otherwise beingdisconnected from the network 100, the status of the network device 102would be known and stored by a cache (not shown) associated with thenetwork 100. For example, cloud network 114 may include storage (e.g.cache) that stores the status of the network devices within each localarea network 100 it is connected to and/or provides access to. Inanother example, the gateway 110 may include storage that stores thestatus of the network devices within each local area network it isconnected to and/or provides access to. More specifically, the statusstored in the cache may include a status table which indicates thecurrent status of each network device (as of its last communication witheach network device). A status table may include all statuses of eachnetwork device, or individual storage tables for each local area networkor other subset of its network devices/networks. In one embodiment, achange in status may prompt the network device to push its change instatus to the cloud network 114 for storage or updating of the cloud'sstored status table. In another embodiment, cloud network 114 and/orgateway 110 may continuously (or periodically) communicate with eachnetwork device to check to see if its status has changed.

In some embodiments, a network device (e.g. network device 102 and/or104) may, upon connecting to the local area network 100, check thestatus of the network devices on the network 100. In other embodiments,one network device may check the status of one or more of the othernetwork devices on the network 100. The network device may seek to checkthe status of another network device or access device for variousreasons, including to display such status(es) to a user on a display orotherwise, to check whether that network device belongs to the samenetwork, to synchronize or coordinate any scheduled executions, toupdate an attribute based on adjustment received among others. Forexample, a network device or user may desire to check various statuseson a connected device, such as power level, timestamped activity history(e.g. temperature for a thermostat, motion for a motion detector, etc.),how long it has been active/turned on, attributes for operation of theconnected device (e.g., a brightness of a lamp, a speed of a fan, or asensitivity of a sensor, etc.), among many others.

In some embodiments, a device, such as the access device 108 shown inFIG. 1 or the gateway 110, connected to the network 100 can communicatean updated status of a network device, such as the network devices 102and/or 104. The updated status can be communicated via the network 100and can include an adjustment that affects a status of the networkdevice. The adjustment can include an amount of change to one or moreattributes, one or more settings, or a combination thereof related tooperation of the network device connected to the network 100. The accessdevice 108 or the gateway 110 can present a graphical interface that canreceive input corresponding to an adjustment to a status of a device. Insome embodiments, the updated status of the network device communicatedto the network 100 can be received by a network device to which theupdated status applies, or can be received by the gateway 110, the cloudnetwork 110, or any other device in communication with the network. Ifthe device cannot directly receive the updated status, it can alsoreceive the updated status from the cloud network 114, the gateway 110,or the other devices in the network 100. In some embodiments, thenetwork device can communicate its updated status to the network 100,which can indicate whether the status has been updated. The updatedstatus can be received by the access device or any other device in thenetwork 100. In some embodiments where the access device is not locatedwithin the network 100, the access device may not immediately receivethe updated status. The updated status can be stored by the cloudnetwork 114 or the gateway 110 for communication to the access device.The status of the network device can indicate whether an adjustment wasmade based on an adjustment in a setting or an attribute transmitted bythe access device. Alternatively, or additionally, the access device canreceive, from any other network device connected to the network 100, astatus update indicating whether the adjustment was in fact made at anetwork device.

A network device seeking to check the status of any other device on thenetwork 100 may communicate with the cloud network 114, to which alldevices on the network 100 are connected either directly or indirectly.Since the cloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 can store an updatedtable/list of the statuses of each of the network devices 102 and 104within the requesting network's local area network, the cloud network114 and/or gateway 110 may communicate such status data to the networkdevices 102 and 104 and the access device. For example, if networkdevices 102 and 104 were to each turn on and communicate their statusesto cloud network 114, cloud network 114 may analyze the status ofnetwork devices 102 and 104 and communicate to network devices 102 and104 that they are each connected to the same local area network 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a network 300, according to embodimentsof the present invention. Specifically, the network 300 can be awireless local area network enabling an access device to communicatewith network devices to control adjustment of attributes related tooperation of the network devices. Network 300 includes network device302, network device 304, network device 306, and network device 308. Thenetwork 300 also includes access device 108. In other words, the network300 may be substantially similar to the network 100 except that accessdevice 108 has been turned on near the network 300, to which it isassociated, or has entered the an area to which the network 300 canreach.

When access device 108 can enter the network 300 as shown in FIG. 3,access device 108 may be authenticated based on the access device'sauthentication with the logical network or may otherwise commencecommunication with cloud network 114. Access device 108 may alsocommunicate notification of its presence or other information directlyto other network devices 302-308 within network 300, as shown in FIG. 3by communication paths 330. As noted, such communication may includevarious communications protocols, such as Universal Plug and Play(UPnP), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WiFi-Direct, WiFi,Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), sound frequencies, and/or the like. Forexample, access device 108 may communicate to all other devices innetwork 300, including network device 302, network device 304, networkdevice 306, and network device 308, information/data regarding itsstatus. Such status data may include the fact that it is present andturned on, or other status data/information. At any time that networkdevices 302, 304, 306 and 308 recognize that access device 108 ispresent at network 300, the network devices may communicate back toaccess device 108. For example, the network devices may send anacknowledgement (e.g. ACK signal) back to access device 108 to confirmthat they received the status data sent by access device 108. Thenetwork devices may also send their own status data to access device108.

While network devices 302-308 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other network devices around the network 300,including the status of each of those network devices, network devices302-308 and/or access device 108 may be continuously scanning network300 (including, for example, running discovery algorithms) to determinewhether any devices within the network have moved, turned on/off orotherwise added to or subtracted from the network 300, or have otherwisechanged statuses.

Since network devices 302-308 and access device 108 may each receivecommunication from other devices around network 300, including thestatus of each of those devices, each network device within network 300may know the status of each other network device in the network 300. Forexample, access device 108 or devices 302-308 may not be required tocommunicate with cloud network 114 in order to obtain one or more ofsuch statuses. Since cloud network 114 is an external network and may beremote from network 300, communication between network devices withinthe network 300 and cloud 114 may take more time than communicationbetween two devices within network 300. For example, communicationbetween devices within network 300 may take anywhere from 1 millisecondto 100 milliseconds, while communication between a device within network300 and the cloud network 114 may take anywhere from 50 milliseconds to1 second or more). Furthermore, if a network device is retrievinginformation from cloud 114, the request must travel from the networkdevice to cloud network 114, and then the information must travel backfrom cloud network 114 to the network device. This process may doublethe latency caused by retrieving information with cloud 114. Therefore,devices within the network 300 may choose to send and receive/retrievestatuses directly with other devices within the network 300 instead ofcommunicating such information via cloud network 114. When a networkdevice receives status data from another network device on the device'slocal area network 300, it may store that status data so that it mayretrieve and use that status data at a later time.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a network 400, according to embodimentsof the present invention. The local area network 400 may include networkdevice 302, network device 304, network device 306, network device 308,and access device 108. FIG. 4 also illustrates that one or more networkdevices 302-308 and/or access device 108 may include a storage device,such as a cache, for storing data, including data regarding its ownstatus and data regarding statuses received from the other deviceswithin local area network 400. For example, access device 108 may, afterbeing powered up, broadcast/send its status to network device 308 viacommunication 434. Network device 308 may store the status data receivedfrom access device 108 until the next time access device 108 updates itsstatus by sending new/updated status data to network device 308. Cachemay be used for storage within network 400 and/or access devices withinthe local area network 400 so that each of the devices may be able toquickly retrieve the data it needs from storage. An applicationoperating on the access device 108 can access the cache to obtaininformation to display the visual interface for each network device302-308 registered within the network 400. Although a caching device maybe used to store such data within the network and/or access deviceswithin the local area network 400, other types of storage may be used.

The cache can contain a known interface list including interfaceinformation for different, known types of devices. The known list caninclude a record for each network device known by the access device 108to exist on the network 400. When an application is run on the accessdevice 108, the access device 108 can access the known interfaces in thecache to present the display of access device 108. The display canpresent one or more visual interfaces, each corresponding to a networkdevice known to exist on the network 400. Each visual interface can begenerated based on a visual interface module corresponding to eachdevice on the network 400. In an example, the display can include avisual interface (e.g., a module tile) for each device in the network400 having an interface in the known interface list.

The cache can also contain known status information about each networkdevice in the known device list. When the application is run on theaccess device 108, the access device 108 can access the known statusinformation in the cache to present a status display. The access device108 can populate each tile with an indicator representing the respectiveknown status information for each device in the known device list. Thestatus display can include an indicator of one or more attributes, oneor more settings, or a combination thereof related to operation of eachdevice in the network 400. For example, the status display can include aspeed of a fan (e.g., a fan speed of 56 in a range of values between 0and 100) of the network device 302 (e.g., a fan), a value of sensitivityof a sensor (e.g., a value of 34 in a range of values 0-100) for thenetwork device 304 (e.g., a motion sensor), a value of brightness (e.g.,65 percent brightness) for the network device 306 (e.g., a light bulb),and a value of temperature (e.g. a slow cooker). Although shown ashaving a single indicator for an attribute or a setting related tooperation of a network device, the status display can present aplurality of indicators corresponding to different attributes and/orsettings related to operation of a network device.

In some embodiments, the cache can include other information about anetwork device. The other information can indicate a device's firmwareversion, last known firmware update status, connectivity to cloudstatus, registration status (e.g., whether the network device has a keyor not), and other such information. The cache can include informationthat could be used for troubleshooting. In embodiments described below,the access device 108 can access status information from another otherdevice on the network 400 and can use that information to update its owncache, update the status display, and/or pass the information to thecloud network 114 and/or the gateway 110 for trouble shooting and/orstorage.

Even though each network device may know and store (e.g. in cache) thestate of each other network device within local area network 400, anetwork device may not know when another network device changes status(e.g. turns/powers off). However, network devices and/or access deviceswithin local area network 400 may broadcast/send any updates in itsstatus to other devices on the network. For example, if network device302 changes status, it may send status data to the other networkdevices, such as network devices 304, 306 and 308 and to access device108. However, network device 302 may not know which devices to updatesince the other devices may change statuses periodically (e.g. turnoff).

Therefore, a network or access device may subscribe to another networkor access device within local area network 400. For example, networkdevices 304, 306 and 308 and access device 108 may subscribe to statusdata notifications/updates from network device 302. Such a subscriptionmay be registered for upon initial connection with network device 302when network device 302 first enters local area network 400 or at anyother time after network device 302 has been associated with local areanetwork 400. Subscriptions may be controlled to last indefinitely or mayexpire after a certain predetermined period of time after initialsubscription. However, network devices may re-subscribe to anothernetwork device before or after their previous subscription has expired.

Subscriptions between network device and/or access devices may beregistered, similar to registering a network device upon initialentrance into the local area network, including security registrationsdescribed herein with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, a networkdevice may send its unique security key, which it may have stored alongwith its network ID after being registered on the network, to a networkdevice to which it wants to subscribe. However, subscriptions may takeon many other forms, including sending a different form ofidentification to a network device to which a network device wants tosubscribe. However, subscriptions may take on many other forms,including sending a different form of identification to a network deviceto which a network device wants to subscribe.

Upon receiving a subscription from another network device or accessdevice, the device being subscribed to may store a list of the devicesthat subscribed to it. For example, network device 302 may store a listof network devices 304, 306 and 308 and access device 108 after thosedevices subscribe to network device 302. Then, when network device 302undergoes a change in status, network device 302 may send that change instatus to only the devices that had previously subscribed to it butwhere the subscription had not yet expired. Furthermore, according tosome embodiments, the subscription list of a network device may beautomatically updated if that device receives notification that anotherdevice has left the range of the local area network, either from thatdevice itself or from a different device. Therefore, the various deviceswithin a given local area network, such as network 400, each containcontinuously updated statuses of each other device on the network andobtain those statuses and updates through direct communication withoutnecessary use of the cloud.

FIG. 5 illustrates an access device 108 that is located remotely fromnetwork 500 (e.g. local area network), according to embodiments of thepresent invention. Local area network 500 includes gateway 104 andnetwork devices 502 and 504 (which may be, for example, the same as anyof network devices 302-308 in FIGS. 3 and 4), as shown in FIG. 5.However, network 500 may also include a variety of other network devicesand one or more access devices directly connected to network 500.Gateway 104 is connected to cloud network 120, and allows networkdevices 502 and 504 to connect to cloud 120, the internet, or otherexternal networks via gateway 104. In some embodiments, the networkdevices 502 and 504 may include home automation devices that allow auser to access, control, and/or configure various home applianceslocated within the user's home, such as a television, radio, light,microwave, iron, and/or the like.

Access device 108 is not directly connected to network 500. Instead,access device 108 is external to network 500 and may connect to cloudnetwork 120 and to network 500 via cloud network 120. As noted, networkdevices 502 and 504 may change status on a periodic basis. In someembodiments, even when external to and not directly connected to network500, an access device may request to check the status of the devices onthe network. When access device 108 seeks to check the status of anydevice on the network, the access device 108 may transmit/send acommunication 536 to the cloud network 114, to which all devices on thenetwork are connected either directly or indirectly via gateway 104.Since the cloud network 114 stores an updated table/list of the statusesof each of the devices within the requesting access device's network,the cloud network 114 may transmit a communication 538 of such statusdata to the access device 108. For example, after network devices 502and 504 are turned on, authenticated and are a part of network 500,network devices 502 and 504 may communicate their statuses to cloudnetwork 114. Furthermore, any time the status of network devices 502 and504 changes, the device that incurred a status change may push/sendinformation (e.g. an indication) of that status change to cloud network114. Cloud network 114 may store, in cache 526 or otherwise, thestatuses (which may be time stamped in metadata or otherwise) of networkdevices 502 and 504. Therefore, when access device 108 requests fromcloud network 114 the statuses of devices on network 500, cloud 114 maysend its most recently stored/updated statuses to access device 108.

To obtain the most updated status data of devices within network 500,cloud 114 may, upon receiving a request for status data related tonetwork devices 502 and 504, transmit/send a communication 532 (e.g.request, query, etc.) for such status data to network devices 502 and504 via gateway 104. Once network devices 502 and 504 receive thisrequest, network devices 502 and 504 may send a communication 534 (e.g.updated status data) to cloud 114 to replace the previouslystored/cached statuses in cache 526. Upon receipt of updated status data534 from network 500, cloud 114 may send a communication 538 of suchstatus data to the access device 108.

However, the process of cloud network 114 requesting updated statusesfrom network devices 502 and 504 within network 500 may cause latencywithin the system. More specifically, the time required for cloudnetwork 114 to request updated statuses from network devices 502 and 504and to in turn receive updated statuses from network devices 502 and 504may be substantially greater than the time required for cloud network114 to send its currently stored statuses (without being updated) fornetwork devices 502 and 504 to access device 108. For example, of thetotal time required for access device 108 to receive updated statusesfrom cloud network 114, 80% or more of that total time may include cloudnetwork 114 requesting updated statuses from network devices 502 and504. On the other hand, of the total time required for access device 108to receive updated statuses from cloud network 114, 20% or more of thattotal time may include the status data being transmitted from cloudnetwork 114 to access device 108. Since a majority of the processrequired for access device 108 to request and receive status data fornetwork devices 502 and 504 is the transmission of data between cloud114 and network devices 502 and 504, the access device 108 and cloudnetwork 114 may maximize efficiency by minimizing the effect of thetransmission of data between cloud 114 and network devices 502 and 504on the whole process/system.

Accordingly, techniques and systems are described herein fortransmission of data through networks, such as, for example, meshnetworks. Specifically, various techniques and systems are provided fora network device to generate performance metrics based on its ownperformance, generate and receive performance metrics based on theperformance of other network devices in a network, and sharing thatinformation with the other network devices on the network. Furthermore,techniques and systems are provided for using the performance metrics ofnodes in the mesh network to make data transmission decisions. Forexample, a mesh node may compile data (based on generated and/orreceived data) based on the performance of itself and other nodes in thenetwork to determine which node it wants to send its data. Theperformance metrics and/or data used to make such decisions include, forexample, latency, reliability, number of hops from destination, IPbandwidth, among other data. The decisions based on compiled performancemetrics may include dynamic (e.g. real time), conditional decisionmaking that adjusts based on the state of the network at any given time.The mesh network nodes may also shift or reshape based on the state ofthe network or node.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a wireless local area network 600,according to embodiments of the present invention. The local areanetwork 600 includes network device 302, network device 304, networkdevice 306 and network device 308. The local area network 600 may be oneof a variety of different kinds of networks. For example, local areanetwork 600 may be a mesh network. As noted, in some embodiments, thenetwork devices 302, 304, 306 and 308 may include home automationnetwork devices that allow a user to access, control, and/or configurevarious home appliances located within the user's home, such as atelevision, radio, light, microwave, iron, and/or the like, as describedfurther with respect to FIG. 1. As described further with respect toFIGS. 1 and 2, upon being powered on or reset, the network devices 302,304, 306 and 308 may be registered with the cloud network 114 andassociated with a logical network within the local area network 600.

Network devices 302, 304, 306 and 308 may generate, collect, share,and/or receive various information regarding themselves and/or othernetwork devices in the network. As noted with respect to FIG. 3, forexample, network devices 302, 304, 306 and 308 may change status orother identifying information on a periodic basis. As another example,network devices 302, 304, 306 and 308 may change their performance on aperiodic basis. For example, a network device may be connected to a homeappliance that can be controlled by the network device (and also, forexample, by an access device that controls the network device). Thenetwork device may be responsible to receive, transmit, and transferdata, instructions, or other signals to and from the home appliance itcontrols. Network devices 302, 304, 306 and 308 may receive, transmitand transfer such signals via, for example, communication paths 624A,624B, 624C, 624D, 624E, and 624F as shown in FIG. 6. Although local areanetwork 600 in FIG. 6 is shown with network devices 302, 304, 306 and308 and communication paths 624A, 624B, 624C, 624D, 624E, and 624F,other network devices and communication paths may be a part of network600.

Furthermore, the network device may fail to perform in its expectedmanner on some frequency. For example, the network device may receive apacket of information from another network device, access device, oranother network device and fail to successfully transmit that data tothe home appliance. The network device (e.g. “first” network device) mayalso be used as a pass through (e.g. node) as a way to transferinformation/data from a second network device on the network to a thirdnetwork device on the network. For example, if the second network deviceis unable to communicate directly with the third network device, but thefirst network device is able to communicate with both the second andthird network device, then the second network device may transmitinformation/data or otherwise communicate with the first network devicefor the purpose of transmitting that information, data or communicationto the third network device. The network device may, therefore, alsofail to perform in this expected manner on some frequency. For example,the network device may receive a packet of information from the secondnetwork device, access device, or another network device and fail tosuccessfully transmit that data to the third network device (or anywhereelse). As such, there are various other ways in which a network devicemay be responsible to receive, transmit, and transfer data,instructions, or other signals to and from the network device, and thenetwork device may fail to perform its task at some frequency. Thenetwork device may share information/data regarding its performance(e.g. success/failure to perform its tasks) with other devices on thenetwork, a cloud network, other devices connected to the network devicevia the Internet, or other devices/networks.

The success or failure of such a network device may be measured using avariety of different performance metric categories. For example, anetwork device may be measured based on its reliability. For example,such a reliability may be a percentage of successfultransmissions/transfers (e.g. in number of transmissions, packets, etc.)to, through, or from the network device. In other words, if a networkdevice, over a certain period of time, successfully receives a packetand then transmits that packet to its destination, such an action may beconsidered a successful transfer. If the network device completed, forexample, 80 successful transfers out of 100 total transfers attemptedover a determined period of time, then the reliability of the networkdevice over that period of time may be characterized as 80%. A networkdevice may also be measured by latency. For example, latency may includea number of seconds per transmission/transfer, a number of seconds perbyte or multiple of bytes transmitted, number of seconds above or belowan average number of seconds for such a transmission, among others. Inother words, if a network device, over a certain number of transfers,received a packet and then transmits that packet to its destination inan average of 0.01 seconds, but receives and then transfers a laterpacket in 0.05 seconds, the network device may be characterized at thattime as having a latency of 0.04 seconds. A variety of other differentperformance metric categories may also be used to characterize theperformance of a network device (or a network device at a mesh networknode). Furthermore, a variety of different units of measure and types ofdata may be used as performance data/metrics.

As used herein in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, theterm “performance metric category” may be used to describe differenttypes of categories to describe a device or node's performance (e.g.reliability, latency, etc.). As used herein in exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, the term “performance data” may be used todescribe raw data compiled within any performance metric category (e.g.a percent of reliability, a number of seconds of latency, etc.). As usedherein in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the term“processed performance information” may be used to describe anyinformation that results from the processing (e.g. calculating,analyzing, etc.) of performance data and that is based, at least inpart, on performance data. As used herein in exemplary embodiments ofthe present invention, the term “performance metric” may be used todescribe any performance data and/or processed performance information.

Processed performance information may be computed, calculated orprocessed by either a network device itself or by an external network ordevice that the network device is connected to. For example, networkdevice 302 may compile data regarding its performance (i.e. performancedata). Performance data may include, for example, a compilation of thenumber of packets that were successfully transferred through adevice/node (aka “reliability” data). For example, network device 302may compile data regarding how many packets are successfully transferredthrough device 302 and/or any latency caused by such transfers throughdevice 302. Network device 302 may then subsequently compute itsreliability (e.g. a percentage) and latency (e.g. an amount of time)metrics based on that performance data. In an alternative embodiment,network device 302 may transmit its performance data to cloud network114 so as to allow cloud 114 to compute performance data for device 302based on the performance data 302 received by cloud network 114.Similarly, network device 304 may transmit its performance data to cloud114 via network device 302 if network device 304 is not directlycommunicatively connected to cloud 114. If cloud network 114 computesprocessed performance information based on performance data from anetwork device, cloud network 114 may store those processed performanceinformation, may transmit the metrics back to the network device thatthe processed performance information are associated with, and may alsotransmit the performance data and/or processed performance information(i.e. performance metrics) to other network devices on the network forlocal storage on those network devices. Sharing such performance metricswith other network devices on the network will be discussed furtherherein with respect to FIG. 8.

Aside from recording the performance metrics during normal operationsand associated communications, other methods of requesting andcollecting performance metrics may also be used. For example, a node mayrequest a performance assessment test. More specifically, any node, atany time, may perform an explicit performance assessment calibrationtest to it's peer nodes. In such an event, a node may send specificcommunication packets to one or more other nodes in the network andrequest that those nodes respond with information about themselves. Therequesting node may not only record/collect the contents of theresponses from the other nodes, the requesting node may also record theamount of time it took for the responses to arrive and other performancemetrics relate to the communications between nodes. The requestcommunication sent by the requesting node may also include a request forthe other nodes to run a self-diagnosis, a firmware checksum, a peercalibration test of it's own, or other possible requests forinformation. The requesting node may then also receive the results ofthose processes as transmitted by the other nodes, along with any otherrequested information.

FIG. 7 illustrates a mesh network 700 including multiple nodes andcommunication paths/links, according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention. Network 700 includes mesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C and702D. Network 700 also includes mesh links 724A, 724B, 724C, 724D, 724Eand 724F. Each of mesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C and 702D include a metricsstorage 404. More specifically, mesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C and 702Dinclude metrics storage 704A, 704B, 704C and 704D, respectively. Asshown in FIG. 7, mesh node 702A is communicatively connected to gateway104. Mesh node 702A is also communicatively connected to mesh nodes702B, 702C and 702D. As such, in the configuration shown in FIG. 7, meshnode 702A provides access to devices external to the network. In otherwords, the gateway may also provide the user and the nodes (or networkdevices connected to the nodes) with access to one or more externalnetworks, such as a cloud network, the Internet, and/or other wide areanetworks. Furthermore, mesh node 702A may provide a user, who may accessthe network via an access device (e.g. mobile device) connected togateway 104, with access to the other network devices.

As noted, a gateway, such as gateway 104, may also provide the user andthe nodes (or one or more network devices connected to the nodes) withaccess to one or more external networks, such as a cloud network, theInternet, and/or other wide area networks. More specifically, a nodewithin a mesh network, such as for example network 700 according toembodiments of the present invention, may be connected to a networkdevice of an IoT network. A node, such as nodes 702A-702D, may each be agateway similar to gateway 104. Alternatively, such a node may be orinclude a network device, such as one or more of network devices 302-308as described in FIGS. 3-6. In other words, a network device may performthe operations of a node in the mesh network.

As noted, mesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C and 702D include metrics storage704A, 704B, 704C and 704D, respectively. Metrics storage 704A-D eachinclude locations where performance metrics may be stored at each ofmesh nodes 702A-D. For example, if node 702A represents a networkdevice, such as network device 302, metrics storage 704A may be storage(i.e. a “storage unit”) located within network device 302. Performancemetrics may also be stored externally in a cloud network, such as cloudnetwork 114, which may provide access to the stored metrics by thenetwork devices at any time. For example, cloud network 114 may includestorage (e.g. cache) that stores all information related to the networkdevices within the network.

A device represented by node 702A-D in FIG. 7 may store performancemetrics in a variety of different ways. For example, a node (or networkdevice connected to or representing the node) may store a table/chartthat includes the performance metrics of each node. The cloud network114 may also store a table that includes the performance metrics of eachnode (as of its last communication with each node). The storage unit maystore a single table with all statuses of each node, or individualstorage tables for each network or other subset of its devices/networks.In one embodiment, a change in performance data may prompt the node topush its change in data to the cloud network 114 for storage or updatingof the cloud's stored data/metrics table. In another embodiment, cloudnetwork 114 may continuously (or periodically) communicate with eachnode to check to see if its data or metrics have changed.

In an embodiment where a cloud network receives and/or storesperformance metrics for one or more nodes, and./or performs analysis onthat data, the cloud network may store a history of each of theseperformance metrics for each node for some predetermined (or, in otherembodiments, indefinite) period of time. Such historical metrics may beused to determine the reliability or other performance metrics of a nodeover time. Such historical data may be analyzed over time to determinepatterns and/or give some level of predictability to future performanceof those nodes. Such patterns or other analysis (including predictedfuture metrics) may be transmitted by the cloud network to one or moreof the nodes in the network, and the node(s) may use that data to helpmake its determinations about where (e.g. which nodes) to transmit itsdata to.

FIG. 8 illustrates a mesh network 800 including nodes transmitting data,such as performance metrics, to each other, according to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. Network 800 includes mesh nodes702A, 702B, 702C, 702D, and 802E. Mesh network 800 is similar to thetopology of network 700, but further including added mesh node 802E. Asshown in FIG. 7, mesh node 702A is communicatively connected to gateway104. Mesh node 702A is also communicatively connected to mesh nodes702B, 702C and 702D. Mesh node 702B is communicatively connected to meshnode 702A and 702C. Mesh node 702C is communicatively connected to meshnode 702B and 702D (and new mesh node 802E). Mesh node 702D iscommunicatively connected to gateway 104 and mesh node 702C (and newmesh node 802E). As noted, each mesh node may, in conjunction with cloudnetwork 114 and storage, generate performance metrics based on their ownperformance within the network. Each mesh node may also transmit itsperformance metrics to other devices/nodes on the network. For example,as shown in FIG. 8, node 702A may transmit data 806A to cloud 114 and toany other nodes in the network that it is communicativelyconnected/coupled to (e.g. node 702B and node 702C). Furthermore, node702B may transmit data 806B to nodes 702A and 702C. Further, node 702Cmay transmit data 806C to node 702A, 702B, 702D and 802E. Further, node702D may transmit data 806D to gateway 104 and 702C.

Even if a node is not directly connected to each other node withinnetwork 800, that node may transmit its performance metrics to suchnodes via one or more other intervening nodes within the network thatare connected to such nodes. For example, node 802E may transmit itscompiled performance metrics to node 702A by transmitting itsdata/metrics to, for example, node 702C. Node 802E may include a requestin the same or a different transmission for the receiving node totransmit the received data directly to node 702A or to any other nodesthat may be intervening between node 802E and node 702A. As such,performance metrics for each network device/node may be stored on eachdevice.

Each node may also transmit its performance metrics to cloud network 114for storage. Even if a node is not directly connected to cloud network114, that node may transmit its performance metrics to cloud network 114via one or more other nodes within the network that are connected tocloud network 114. For example, node 702C may transmit its compiledperformance metrics to cloud network 114 by transmitting itsdata/metrics to node 702D, node 702B, or node 702A. Node 702C mayinclude a request in the same or a different transmission for thereceiving node to transmit the received data directly to cloud 114 or toany other nodes that may be intervening between that node and cloudnetwork 114.

A node within the mesh network may also compile performance metricsabout other nodes in the network based on its own experience with thosenodes. For example, node 702B may receive data packets or other forms ofdata from node 702C, and node 702B may also transmit data packets tonode 702C. Node 702B may then evaluate the performance of node 702Cbased on how successful such transmissions are. For example, node 702Bmay compile data regarding the reliability of node 702C, including howoften node 702C successfully transfers data packets that node 702Creceived from node 702B and/or how often node 702C successfullytransmits data packets to node 702B. Node 702B may also compile dataregarding the latency of node 702C, including how long it takes node702C to successfully transfer data packets that node 702C received fromnode 702B and/or how long it takes node 702C to successfully transmitreceived data packets to node 702B. To compile such data, node 702B mayrequest an acknowledgement from node 702C after node 702C receives apacket from node 702B and successfully transmits it to a different node.Other various types of confirmations/acknowledgements are possible tohelp node 702B compile such performance data regarding node 702C. Asnoted, node 702B (or any other node compiling data about another node)may use this data to compute processed performance information or sendsuch data to cloud network 114 where the cloud network 114 may store theperformance data and compute such processed performance information forthe node.

As described, each node within network 800 may compile performancemetrics, whether the metrics are computed by itself or an externaldevice, based on its own performance and based on other nodes'performance (including both data compiled by each node about other nodesand data received from those nodes themselves). Each node may transmitsuch information to each other node within the network and to cloudnetwork 114. In other words, one node may assist a second node withinformation related to a third node that the second node may communicatewith or transmit a signal to. Furthermore, each node may make frequentor semi-frequent decisions for itself regarding which node to use orcommunicate with. For example, a device on node 702C may communicatewith (e.g. send a signal to) gateway 104 (and cloud 114) via node 702Dor via nodes 702B and 702A. Therefore, node 702C may choose which pathto send its signal/data based on a variety of factors. For example, node702C may be programmed to always communicate with gateway 104 via onepredetermined path. However, node 702C may choose which path to send itssignal/data based on a dynamic (e.g. real time) decision making processincluding performance metrics compiled for each node on each path. Forexample, a node may use its own performance data or metrics compiled byitself and by other nodes, performance data or metrics of the othernodes on the possible paths compiled by itself (and its own experiencewith those nodes), performance data or metrics of the other nodes on thepossible paths compiled by other nodes (either the nodes themselves orother nodes' experience with those nodes), its own priorities, amongother factors. As noted, a node/network device may store a table/chartthat includes the performance metrics of each node. The cloud network114 may also store a table that includes performance metrics of eachnode (as of its last communication with each node).

FIG. 9 illustrates tables 900A and 900B, which include a compilation ofexemplary performance metrics for nodes 802E and 702C, respectively,according to embodiments of the present invention. For example, table900A includes performance metrics related to node 802E, including dataabout the node's latency for transferring/transmitting different amountsof data, reliability, number of hops from gateway 104, number of clients(e.g. devices) connected to the node, and the bandwidth that each clientconnected to node 802E is using. Table 900B includes performance metricsrelated to node 702C, including data about the node's latency fortransferring/transmitting different amounts of data, reliability, numberof hops from gateway 104, number of clients (e.g. devices) connected tothe node, and the bandwidth that each client connected to node 702C isusing.

Tables 900A and 900B may each be compiled and stored within theirrespective nodes (e.g. table 900A within node 802E and table 900B withinnode 702C). Tables 900A and 900B may also be compiled by other nodes inthe network or by cloud network 114. Tables 900A and 700E may also beshared between nodes, for example from the device on one of the nodesthat compiled them to another node. Tables 900A and 900B may assist anode (or a device on a node) in making a decision about which of the twonodes to use when transmitting data through the network. For example,such a node may choose to use (i.e. send signals/data to) node 802Einstead of node 702C because the latency data for node 802E showslatencies of 0.01 seconds for <1 GB of data, 0.03 seconds for 1 GB-3 GBof data, and 0.06 seconds for >3 GB of data for node 802E, while node702C shows latencies of 0.04 seconds for <1 GB of data, 0.08 seconds for1 GB-3 GB of data, and 0.13 seconds for >3 GB of data for node 702C.Furthermore, such a node may choose to use (i.e. send signals/data to)node 802E instead of node 702C because the reliability data for node802E shows a reliability of 96%, while the reliability data for node702C shows a reliability of 74%. Furthermore, node 702C hassignificantly less bandwidth available tan node 802E. More specifically,node 702C has 9 clients connected to it, which take up a total of 62% ofthe node's bandwidth, while node 802E has 5 clients connected to it,which take up a total of 52% of the node's bandwidth. The performancemetrics related to the number of hops that each node may be from thegateway (e.g. the network “distance” from the source of the signal atthe node to the destination of the signal) show that while node 702Cincludes three different paths to gateway 104 (while node 802E has only2), node 702C and node 802E each have a possible path with only 2 hops.Therefore, the number of nodes between source (the node) and destination(gateway) may not be a factor in such a decision. Therefore, such a nodemay choose to use (i.e. send signals/data to) node 802E instead of node702C because the performance data/metrics show that node 802E has lowerlatency, higher reliability, and more bandwidth than node 702C.

The node/device may also include certain ranked priorities regardingwhich metrics are most important to the node/device. For example, thenode may have assigned low latency as its highest priority. This may bebecause, for example, the node is primarily used with devices thatrequire quick and efficient transfer of data (e.g. video streaming). Onthe other hand, the node may not have prioritized reliability because,while a higher reliability would benefit any device connected to thenode, the devices may be able to afford lower reliability due to thenature of its needs (e.g. a video streaming application may build upbuffer over time so that a lack of reliability over a short period oftime would not be detrimental to the user). For example, while thetables 900A and 900B show data that may cause most nodes to choose node802E over 702C in most circumstances, such a decision may be moredifficult if, for example, the node prioritized reliability over latencyand the reliability data of node 802E showed a lower reliability thanthe reliability data for 702C.

FIG. 10 illustrates tables 1000, which includes a compilation ofexemplary performance metrics for five nodes in a mesh network,according to embodiments of the present invention. More specifically,tables 1000 include sub-tables 1000A, 1000B, 1000C and 1000D. Sub-table1000A includes reliability metrics, sub-table 1000B includes latencyperformance metrics, sub-table 1000C includes performance metricsrelated to the number of hops a node is from the gateway of the networkthat includes the node, and sub-table 1000D includes performance metricsregarding the number of clients that a node has connected to it. One ormore devices on a network may have one or more sub-tables stored instorage based on information generated by the devices themselves andother devices in the network. For example, each node may have receivedreliability, latency, hops, and clients data from each other node in thenetwork, allowing each node to store such performance metrics to use tomake decisions regarding which device/node to send its data.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, nodes 702A, 702B,702C, 702D and 802E each store sub-tables 1000A, 1000B, 1000C and 1000Din local storage. Therefore, if the network is structured as shown in,for example, FIG. 8, and if node 702C receives packets of data from node802E, or may otherwise transmit data to gateway 104, node 702C may makea decision regarding which path to use to send the packets of data togateway 104 based on the performance metrics stored in its localstorage. Node 702C may also have stored certain priorities, as noted,that may dictate the performance metrics that node 702C gives moreweight to when making such a decision. For example, if node 702Cprioritizes latency as its highest priority performance metric category,then node 702C may choose to send data packets to gateway 114 via nodes702A and 702B instead of via nodes 702D. Even though the data packetsmay have to travel through two nodes (e.g. two nodes within the meshnetwork), the data packets would experience less latency if transmittedthrough node 702A and node 702B (0.03 seconds for node 702A and 0.08seconds for node 702B) than through node 702D (0.20 seconds).

Similar decisions may be performed by node 702C (or another node) basedon other performance metrics, such as reliability, number of hops, ornumber of clients in a similar way. Furthermore, such decisions may beperformed by node 702C (or another node) based on a combination of thosecategories. For example, if a node prioritizes reliability and latencyas its top two priorities, it may assign a 50% priority to each of thosepriorities and the metrics that result from the reliability and latencyperformance metrics. If a different mixed priority exists, differentpercentages or weights may be applied to the two (or more) sets ofperformance metrics to achieve a decision based on the weighted metrics.

The priorities and data of a certain node may change dynamically overtime (e.g. in real time). For example, even though the transmission paththrough nodes 702A and 702B would have less latency than thetransmission path through node 702D at a certain time, the paths mayhave opposite efficiencies at a later time. Therefore, node 702C mayperform dynamic decision making based on its stored performancedata/metrics at the time it makes the decision.

FIG. 11 illustrates tables 1100, which includes a compilation ofexemplary performance metrics for two nodes in a mesh network, accordingto embodiments of the present invention. More specifically, tables 1100include sub-tables 1100A and 1100B. Sub-table 1100A includes performancemetrics for device/node 702D and sub-table 1100B includes performancemetrics for device/node 702B. The performance metrics listed in tables1100A and 1100B may be calculated by a cloud network, such as cloudnetwork 114, or by another computing device. The processed performanceinformation may be calculated using performance data compiled by one ormore nodes within in the network. For example, as noted, each node maycompile performance data related to itself and performance data relatedto other nodes on the network based on that device's relationship andexperiences with the other nodes.

Each node may also receive performance data, from other nodes, relatedto itself and the other nodes based on the devices' experiences with theother nodes on the network. Each node may periodically send some or allof its compiled performance data to cloud network 114 so as to allow thecloud network to analyze the performance data and calculate processedperformance information based on the performance data. The cloud networkmay then send the performance metrics to one or more (e.g. all) of thenodes. If updated performance data is sent to the cloud network, thecloud network may re-calculate or update the processed performanceinformation and send the updated performance metrics (performance data,processed performance information, or both) to one or more (e.g. all) ofthe nodes. In other words, performance data (or metrics) may changedynamically (or in “real time”) to adjust for newly generateddata/metrics (for example, they may change continually or time).

The processed performance information in tables 1100 are specific tocertain conditions. More specifically, unlike performance data listed intables 1000 in FIG. 10, which include raw data (e.g. a percentage forreliability, a number of seconds for latency, etc.) for metricscategories such as reliability, latency, among others, the processedperformance information in FIG. 11 include such values that change withrespect to different applied conditions. For example, table 1100Aincludes processed performance information that shows that the latencyof node 702D is greater than 0.04 seconds between the times of 8:17 AMand 4:43 PM. In other words, the processed performance informationstates that the latency of node 702D is greater than 0.04 seconds aslong as the time is between 8:17 AM and 4:43 PM. Such a metric may havebeen calculated by cloud network 114, or a different computing device,by analyzing the latency data for node 702D over a period of time. Thisprocessed performance information may be shared with the other nodes,similar to any other metrics in table 1100A. Another node may also havestored performance metrics for node 702D such that the node may make itsown decision regarding whether or not to send data to node 702D. Infact, the node may have had previous experiences with node 702D duringthat time period that may cause the node not to send data to node 702Dduring that time period (for example, the node may choose to give moreweight to its experience with node 702D than to experiences by othernodes, including data received from node 702D itself). Alternatively orin addition, this performance metric may cause node 702D to informanother node, where the node is considering/deciding whether or not tosend data to node 702D or to another node via node 702D, that the node702D should not receive data between 8:17 AM and 4:43 PM because of itshigh latency. Instead, such a node may choose to transmit data through adifferent communication path (to a node other than device 702D), whichhas a lower latency during that time period.

Table 1100A includes conditional performance metrics showing that thelatency of node 702D is less than 0.02 seconds between 4:58 PM and 7:47AM. As such, a node may choose to transmit data through node 702D,instead of through a different communication path that may have a higherlatency during that time period. In other words, a node may choose toanalyze the network and divide up traffic via the different availabletransmission or communication paths so as to prevent an excess oftraffic on one particular path, and in turn reduce latency, reliability,etc. on that path.

Table 1100B, on the other hand, includes performance metrics for node702B that shows that node 702B has a latency of less than 0.01 secondsbetween 11:36 PM and 3:34 PM. Therefore, if another node, such as node702C (as shown in FIG. 8, for example), transmits data at, for example,2:00 PM, node 702C may choose to transmit data to node 702B instead of702D. Node 702C may be more apt to make such a decision if low latencywas, at the time of transmission, high on the list of priorities fornode 702C.

Similarly, if node 702C, based on the performance metrics stored in itsstorage device (e.g. cache), notices that node 702D has 8 clientsalready communicating with node 702D, node 702C may conclude that node702D has a latency of greater than 0.03 seconds (as shown in table1100A). Therefore, in such a situation, node 702C may transmit data vianode 702B, especially if node 702B has less than 3 clients connected toit (because, as shown in table 1100B, node 702B has a highlatency—greater than 0.25 seconds—when it has 3 or greater than 3clients communicating with it). Furthermore, if node 702C prioritizesreliability highly, it may prefer to transmit data via node 702B if thetime of transmission is between 11:48 PM and 3:12 PM (because, as shownin table 800B, the reliability of node 702B is greater than 99% betweenthose times).

FIG. 12 illustrates a mesh network 1200 including five nodes, accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Network 1200 includesmesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D, and 802E. Mesh network 1200 issimilar to the topology of network 800. Mesh node 702A iscommunicatively connected to gateway 104. Mesh node 702A is alsocommunicatively connected to mesh nodes 702B and 702D. Mesh node 702B iscommunicatively connected to mesh node 702A and 702C. Mesh node 702C iscommunicatively connected to mesh node 702B and 802E. Mesh node 702D iscommunicatively connected to mesh node 702A. Mesh node 702A, as shown inFIG. 12, is represented by a circle with a dotted outline, representingthat node 702A is unstable. Node 702A may be unstable as perceived byitself or by another node in mesh network 1200. The perceivedinstability of node 702A may be due to declining performance metrics ofnode 702A. For example, node 702A may have experienced poor or decliningreliability, latency, etc. Such an example will be discussed furtherwith respect to FIG. 13. Or, node 702A may be failing to work as acomplimentary node in network 1200 altogether. For example, node 702Amay have been turned off or powered down. Therefore, node 702A may beviewed as unstable by node 702A, because node 702A receives andgenerates performance metrics regarding itself, or by other devices innetwork 1200, because the other devices in network 1200 receive andgenerate performance metrics regarding node 702A.

When a node is perceived as unstable, another node in the network mayrequest a reshaping of the mesh network. In other words, one or morenodes may request to reorganize the topology of the network. Reshapingof a mesh network may be performed so as to place each node in its bestposition to be efficient and so that their performance metrics are attheir best after the reshaping. More specifically, such a reshaping mayallow for a node with certain superior performance metrics to be used bya node/network device or other device that desires/requires such aperformance metric to be superior for its transactions/transmissions.For example, as shown in FIG. 12, each of the other nodes in network1200 depend upon node 702A for their own stability within network 1200.For example, nodes 702D and 702B are communicatively connected togateway 104 (and therefore cloud 114 and the rest of the outside world)via node 702A. Furthermore, nodes 702C and 802E are communicativelyconnected to gateway 104 (and therefore cloud 114 and the rest of theoutside world) via node 702B, which is communicatively connected togateway 104 (and therefore cloud 114 and the rest of the outside world)via node 702A. Therefore, if a node in the network 1200 perceives orcalculates that node 702A is unstable, the node may request that thenetwork reshape so that the network can rely on a different (hopefullybetter performing) node as its access/gateway to gateway 104 andexternal networks. In certain embodiments, any node in the mesh networkmay request a reshaping of the network at any time. In otherembodiments, predetermined rules or conditions (e.g. based onperformance metrics or a certain amount of instability in the network)may exist for a node to request a reshaping.

FIG. 13 illustrates tables 1300, which includes a compilation ofexemplary performance metrics for the nodes in a mesh network, accordingto embodiments of the present invention. More specifically, tables 1300include sub-tables 1300A, 1300B, and 1300C. Sub-table 1300A includesperformance metrics for nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D and 802E at aspecific time (10:30:25 AM). Sub-table 1300B includes performancemetrics for nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D and 802E at a time (10:31:13AM) that is 48 seconds later than the time that the performance metricsin table 1300A represent. Sub-table 1300C includes performance metricsfor nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D and 802E at a time (10:31:32 AM) thatis 19 seconds later than the time that the performance metrics in table1300B represent. The performance metrics listed in tables 1300A, 1300B,and 1300C may be calculated by a cloud network, such as cloud network114, or by another computing device.

The processed performance information may be calculated usingperformance data compiled by one or more nodes/network devices within inthe network. As shown by comparing sub-tables 1300A, 1300B, and 130C,the performance metrics for node 702A decline sharply between 10:30:25AM and 10:31:32 AM. For example, the reliability of node 702A declinesfrom 96% at 10:30:25 AM to 85% at 10:31:13 AM to 71% at 10:31:32 AM. Inother words, the reliability of node 702A decreases by 25% between10:30:25 AM and 10:31:32 AM. Furthermore, the latency of node 702Adeclines from 0.01 seconds at 10:30:25 AM to 0.07 seconds at 10:31:13 AMto 0.14 seconds at 10:31:32 AM. In other words, the latency of node 702Aincreases by 0.13 seconds, or by a factor of 1300%, between 10:30:25 AMand 10:31:32 AM. Since each node within the network, such as network1200, compile and/or receive updated performance data periodically, suchnodes may sense within a very short amount of time that a node withintheir network is unstable. A node may decide to request a reshaping ofthe network very soon after recognizing instability, or a decline inperformance data/metrics, for a node on which it relies to communicatealong a communication path with a gateway in the network (or any otherimportant communication path within the network). In other words, anode/network device may request that communication paths within thenetwork be adjusted such that it relies on a different node, other thanthe unstable node, to communicate with/through.

FIG. 14 illustrates a mesh network 1400 including four nodes, accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Network 1400 includesmesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D, and 802E. Mesh network 1400 issimilar to the topology of network 900 except that node 702D is directlycommunicatively connected to gateway 104 (as node 702D is the “hub” forthe rest of the network), and nodes 702B, 702C and 802E are eachcommunicatively connected to gateway 104 via node 702D. In other words,the nodes within network 1400 have reshaped from their topology innetwork 900. As noted, one of the nodes in the network, such as node802E, 702C, 702B or 702D, or a combination of more than one of thosenodes, may have requested reshaping of the mesh network afterdetermining that node 702A was unstable and/or was going to power downor shut off.

A node or set of nodes may determine in advance that a node is becomingunstable or may shut down or be powered down, causing the node or nodesto request a reshaping of the mesh network. However, alternatively, anode may be set to notify the rest of the nodes when the node knows itwill shut down or be powered down, or when it senses that it has becomeunstable. For example, a node may determine before a different node thatit has become unstable due to, at least, the time for performance dataand/or other information to be sent from the node to other nodes in thenetwork. More specifically, a node may generate performance data and/orprocessed performance information regarding itself before it sends suchdata and/or information to other nodes, and therefore may be able todetermine its level of instability before other nodes in the network.Furthermore, the node has received a prompt or indication that it willbe shut down (e.g. a user has pressed the power button on a device atthe node). In either situation, the node may pre-emptively send amessage or information to the other nodes indicating that it will bepowered down. Receipt of such a message may cause one or more othernodes in the network to request a reshaping of the network.

FIG. 15 illustrates a mesh network 1500 including four nodes, accordingto exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Network 1500 includesmesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D, and 802E. Mesh network 1500 issimilar to the topology of network 1400 except that node 802E isdirectly connected to node 702C instead of 702D.

As noted with respect to FIG. 14, a node may request a reshaping of thenetwork based on the instability of a node or the network as a whole.However, a node may also reject such a reshaping request. For example, anode may request a reshaping by sending a reshaping request (e.g. amessage) to each node on the network. A node that receives the reshapingrequest may send a message back to the requesting node indicating thatthe node will not participate in the reshaping. The requesting node mayproceed with the reshaping without the participating of the rejectingnode, or the requesting node may delay or cancel the reshaping alltogether. For example, the requesting node may delay the reshaping for acertain amount of time, at which time a reshaping may occurautomatically or after which the requesting node may send anotherrequest to the other nodes in the network. A node may refrain fromparticipation in a reshaping if the reshaping would take place while thenode is busy participating in a transaction, transmission or othercommunication. For example, if the reshaping may require the node todisconnect from one node and reconnect to the network at another node,such a process may cause a communication to disconnect also, causingfailure or delay/latency.

For example, if, based on the performance metrics shown in FIG. 13, anode requested reshaping of the mesh network in FIG. 15 node 802E mayreject the reshaping request and remain communicativelycoupled/connected to node 702C. A mesh network topology where node 802Eis communicatively connected to node 702C is shown in FIG. 15. If node802E had not rejected the reshaping request (and did participate in thereshaping), node 802E may be connected to 702D as shown in FIG. 14.

If node 802E does refrain from participation in the reshaping of themesh network, node 802E may participate in a later reshaping request.For example, the node may wait and participate in a reshaping the nexttime such a reshaping takes place. The node could also later request areshaping itself. In another example, the other nodes on the network maywait until the rejecting node is available to reshape. Each node mayprepare to reshape so that when the rejecting node is ready to reshape,a reshaping may take place quickly thereafter.

FIG. 16 illustrates a mesh network 1600 including five nodes and anaccess device and computer device connected to a node in the meshnetwork, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.Network 1600 includes mesh nodes 702A, 702B, 702C, 702D, and 802E.Connected to node 702D is access device 1622 and computer device 1624.Access device 1622 and/or computer device 1624 may be connected to node702D via a WiFi connection, among various other types of medium (e.g.Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, WiFi™, IR, cellular, LTE, WiMax™, or the like).Although two devices, access device 1622 and computer device 1624, areconnected to node 702D in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 16,various other types and numbers of devices (e.g. wifi capable devices)may be connected to node 702D or any other node within network 1600.

Similar to how each mesh node receives data from other nodes within meshnetwork 1600, a node connected to a device may also receive data fromthe computing device. For example, node 702D may receive data from node702C (and from other nodes within network 1600 via node 702C) and/orfrom node 702A. Node 702D may also receive data from access device 1622and/or computer device 1624. For example, access device 1622 and/orcomputer device 1624 may access the internet by communicating withgateway 104 via nodes 702D and 702A. Furthermore, access device 1622and/or computer device 1624 may communicate with a different node innetwork 1600, such as node 702B, 702C or 802E via node 702D. Therefore,each node within mesh network 1600 may receive data from multipledifferent types of connections, such as, for example, mesh networkconnections (e.g. between node 702D and 702C) and WiFi connections (e.g.between node 702D and access device 1622). Furthermore, each node thatreceives data from multiple different types of connections may treatdata received from each type of connection differently.

As noted with respect to FIGS. 4-8, each node in a mesh network,according to embodiments of the present invention, may compileperformance metrics regarding itself and other nodes in the network,share that data and metrics with the other nodes, and make dynamicdecisions regarding which transmission path to use to transmit datathrough the network and/or to a location external to the network basedon that data and metrics. The node may also make similar decisions basedon which device sent the data to the node and which type of connectionpath was used to transmit the data. For example, if node 702D receivesdata from node 702C (which it will send to node 702A) and data fromaccess device 1622 (which it will also send to node 702A) at the sametime, node 702D may determine the order in which data will be send tonode 702A based on predetermined (although sometimes dynamicallychanging) priorities, including the sender of the data (mesh networknode vs. external access device, for example) and the type ofcommunication path used to send the data (mesh vs. WiFi, for example).

FIG. 17 illustrates tables 1700, which includes two decision profiles,according to embodiments of the present invention. Tables 1700 includesub-tables 1700A and 1700B. Sub-table 1700A includes a mesh profile withperformance metrics for mesh nodes and recommendations for device/node702D. More specifically, sub-table 1700A includes performance metricsfor node 702A, 702B, 702C and 802E for each of four differentperformance metric categories, including reliability, latency, number ofhops, and number of clients. Sub-table 1700A also includes arecommendation including the node, based on the performance metrics foreach node, that node 702D should transmit data to for each performancemetric category individually, and a recommendation for which node thatnode 702D should transmit data based on all of the performance metriccategories combined. The overall recommendation may be based on theperformance metrics for each category and node, as well as predeterminedpriorities for node 702D related to which categories are most importantto node 702D. Therefore, according to sub-table 1700A, node 702D maydecide to transmit data to node 702A (for example, if the data isultimately being transmitted to gateway 104 and a device/networkexternal to network 1600). However, such a decision may be differentbased on the different type of data being sent.

Sub-table 1700B includes a profile for node 702D that includes prioritydecisions regarding two different types of data communications, mesh andWiFi, for each of various different kinds of data. A node, such as node702D, may also make transmission decisions (including decisions aboutwhich data to send when) based on which device sent the data to the nodeand which type of connection path was used to transmit the data. Node702D may determine the order in which data will be send to node 702Abased on predetermined priorities. For example, if node 702A receivesdata related to streaming video from node 702C (via mesh connection) andstreaming video from access device 1622 (via WiFi), table 1700Bindicates that node 702D should give priority to the streaming videodata for mesh over the streaming video over WiFi.

Although not shown in FIG. 1700B, node 702D may also make similardecisions (based on predetermined priorities) if the types of datareceived across a mesh network communication (e.g. from node 702C) andacross a WiFi communication (e.g. from access device 1622) aredifferent. For example, if the data received across the mesh networkcommunication (e.g. from node 702C) is email traffic data and the datareceived across a WiFi communication (e.g. from access device 1622) isstreaming video data, node 702D may choose to give priority (aka sendfirst) the streaming video data over WiFi because latency in such atransmission may be more problematic for a user of the access device1622 than for latency of a transmission of email traffic. Such decisionsmay be made based on various other types of information, includinginformation specific to the current status of the node or any devicesconnected to the node. For example, if the data received across a WiFicommunication (e.g. from access device 1622) is streaming video data andaccess device 1622 has built up significant buffer so as to allow theuser of the access device to view the streaming video for a period oftime even if the WiFi communication has latency due to a delay in datadelivery by node 702D, then node 702D may choose to give priority to thedata received via mesh network from 702C and transmit the email trafficdata received across the mesh network communication from node 702Cfirst.

Decisions made between different types of transmissions (e.g. mesh vs.WiFi) may be made dynamically based on dynamically changingcircumstances/statuses. More specifically, the different constantlychanging variables (e.g. performance data/metrics, location of nodes,status of nodes/network devices, etc.) in both a mesh network and alocal area (WiFi) network may cause decisions to be changed from momentto moment. In other words, although the tables shown in FIG. 1700 (andothers shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8 and 10) may illustrate decisions and/orrecommendations at a particular point in time, those same decisions (orset of decisions) may not be accurate for a different point in time.

As noted herein, network devices (and mesh network nodes) may shareinformation/data regarding the device's (and node's) performance (e.g.success/failure to perform its tasks) with other devices/nodes on thenetwork, cloud networks, other devices connected to the network devicevia the Internet, or other devices/networks. Similarly, devices such asaccess device 1622 and computer device 1624 may also compileinformation/data regarding its own performance and regarding theperformance of the one or more nodes it has connected to (e.g. node702D). Devices 1622 and 1624 may then share those performance metricswith node 702D and with other nodes on the network to add to the datathat both node 702D and other nodes on the network have compiledregarding its own experiences and other nodes' experiences with thosenodes. For example, access device 1622 may compile latency informationregarding node 702D, which may indicate to access device 1622, and therest of the network, how node 702D prioritized its data, for variousdifferent kinds of data, as compared to other types of data received bynode 702D. Such information may be useful to other nodes on the networkwhen deciding whether or not to use a transmission path including node702D.

FIG. 18 illustrates a WiFi beacon frame 1800, according to embodimentsof the present invention. Beacon frame 1800 includes various fields, andeach field includes information, such as, for example, informationregarding the network in which the beacon frame is being transmitted.For example, beacon frame 1800 may include a MAC header with adestination address and a source address (e.g. the source where thebeacon was sent from and the destination of the beacon frame where thebeacon frame will be sent to), BSSID (e.g. MAC address of the wirelessaccess point, or wireless AP, in the network), among other fields.Furthermore, beacon frame 1800 includes a frame body/network data field.

Although the information sent via beacon frame 1800 includes consistent,predetermined information about the network (e.g. network 1600), beaconframe 1800 may include empty space within the frame, such as in theframe body, in which nodes in the mesh network (or network devices thatrepresent those nodes) may communicate information to othernodes/devices. For example, as a node within a mesh network compilesperformance metrics related to its own performance and the performanceof other nodes in the network, the node may transmit that data and/ormetrics to other nodes within the network using space within beaconframe 1800. Since beacon frame 1800 carries information regarding thenetwork, such as identification information about the network anddevices on the network or to announce the presence of the source of thebeacon frame (e.g. a new network device on the network), such beaconframes are sent periodically from node to node (or device to device)within the network. Therefore, any data stored within the beacon frameis “free” and does not require more bandwidth than is already being usedby the beacon frame (whereas if, on the other hand, suchinformation/data was being transmitted outside of the beacon frame, itwould take up additional network/device bandwidth). Furthermore, anyinformation transmission described herein that is sent from one deviceto another device within a network (e.g. data across communication paths624A-624F as shown in FIG. 6) or from one node to another node (e.g.metrics storage 704A-704D transmitted via communication paths 724A-724Fas shown in FIG. 7) may be transmitted within a field, such as in thebeacon frame's frame body/network data field, of the beacon frame 1800.Although the space within beacon frame 1800 may be limited to a lownumber of bites (e.g. 4 bites), such data may be spread across multiplebeacon frames being sent between the same source and destination. Forexample, reliability or latency performance metrics for a certain nodemay be split up into two or more portions and transmitted separatelyacross the same number (two or more) of beacon frames. However, theamount of empty host space within a frame may vary. For example, inalternative embodiments, the “information element” (IE), which is a partof the body part, may host the information, such as performance metrics,sent by the transmitting node. The information element allows up to, forexample, 253 bytes of vendor specific information to be included in thebroadcast of each management frame. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, more than one frame may be used to host/carry all of theinformation being transmitted. In such cases, a sequence number may beincluded at the beginning of each IE so that any recipients would knowwhether any frame in a set sequence of frames was lost in transit orthat a certain beacon frame is the first, last or another certain beaconframe within the set of beacon frames being sent. Furthermore, othercodes or messages may be included in such a beacon frame to relayinformation to the receiving node or network device. For example, eachtransmitted beacon frame may include a header before the actual data(e.g. performance metrics). The header may include the type of databeing carried by that beacon frame.

Headers or other messages sent before or within a beacon frame may alsoinclude requests. For example, a header may include a request for acertain type of performance metric from the receiving node(s). Morespecifically, if a node is interested in, for example, reliability asits top priority, it may request, in a header within its transmittedbeacon frame, a reliability performance metric or set of metrics fromone or more other nodes to help the node make its decision about whereto send its data. Such a request may allow the node to refrain fromtransmitting/broadcasting a request throughout the network and/or torefrain from requesting for an unnecessary recalibration/reshaping ofthe network. Again, if the prioritized performance metric is latency,the node may use the time it takes for each node to respond to it as oneor more of its latency performance metrics. In fact, nodes or networkdevices may take part in conversations between each other using suchheaders (or other parts) of beacon frames it is already sending, and itmay transmit and/or request any information from any other nodes aroundthe network. The transmitting node may transmit this information orrequest to a specific set of other nodes, or may broadcast them to anynodes that may be able to hear the transmissions.

Any information/data/requests transmitted within a beacon frame may alsobe secured and protected. For example, to secure the communications,secure keys may be used/required to access the information. For example,the secure keys described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, which are usedduring registration (e.g. for communications during registration) thenetwork devices with the network, may be used. In alternativeembodiments, other keys may be generated and used. Network keys (keysspecific to the network that the network devices or nodes are a part of)may also be used. Such familiar keys may be used so that only othernodes or network devices that were originally registered and securedwith the network registration process may decrypt or decipher them.

The location of data transmitted in a beacon frame, such as beacon frame1800, may be predetermined such that the destination node/device mayknow where to look within the beacon frame to find the data stored inthe predetermined field of the beacon frame. Alternatively, the sourceof the beacon frame may transmit, before the beacon frame itself istransmitted, a separate communication to the destination of the beaconframe to identify the location of the data within the beacon frame.Since other parties/devices may not know to look in a beacon frame forhidden/important information (e.g. performance data/metrics), not tomention to look within a specific portion of the beacon frametraditionally used for other types of data/information (e.g. networkinformation), the transmission of such information in beacon frames maygenerally be secure. Different types of information may also be groupedtogether within different beacons. For example, one beacon may carry lowlatency data and another beacon may carry high reliability data.

Other aspects of a WiFi beacon, other than empty space to carry data,may be used to convey information. For example, a node or device may seta predetermined meaning to the length of a beacon, absence of a beacon,pattern of beacons being sent, among other possible indicators. Forexample, a device may, instead of sending information itself withinempty space of a beacon frame to another device, it may send data (thesubstance of which may not be useful) in a specific size within thebeacon frame so that the size conveys information to the recipient.

Beacons may be transmitted if, for example, the relevant network is aWiFi network (including across all known WiFi channels). However,embodiments of the present invention may be implemented within otherkinds of networks, such as Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals,Ultra-Wideband (UWB) signals, and/or the like. Therefore, a node ornetwork device may transmit management frames or other protocols otherthan beacon frames, such as those associated with the particular type ofnetwork being used. While embodiments of the present invention may bedescribed with respect to the use of WiFi and beacons being sent totransmit identification and other information from a setup access pointto an access device and/or a network device, it is understood that suchother protocols may be used with respect to those embodiments.

FIG. 19 illustrates a flow chart 1900 including an exemplary process forgenerating and sharing performance metrics among network devices, inaccordance with an embodiment. Step 1902 includes receiving, at anetwork device on a network, performance metrics associated with anadditional network device on the network. A network device may receivevarious types of performance metrics from other network devices in thenetwork that the network device is connected to. For example, theperformance metrics may include metrics generated by the other networkdevices about themselves, or received from other network devices.

Step 1904 includes generating performance metrics associated with thenetwork device itself. In other words, a network device may generateperformance metrics about itself. For example, a network device maydetermine the amount of time it takes it to transmit data received fromanother network device (latency), or how many of the packets from thedata received are transmitted by the network device to its nextdestination (reliability), among other performance metrics categories.

Step 1906 includes storing the performance metrics associated with thenetwork device and the performance metrics associated with theadditional network device. The received and generated performancemetrics may be stored in storage, e.g. cache, for retrieving at a latertime. Historical performance metrics may be stored over time so that theperformance metrics may be analyzed, e.g. for patterns or otherinformation.

Step 1908 includes transmitting the performance metrics associated withthe network device and the performance metrics associated with anadditional network device, wherein when the performance metrics arereceived, the performance metrics are used to determine whether datawill be transmitted to the network device. The network device maytransmit performance metrics about itself and other network devices, andboth generated by itself and received from other network devices, toother network devices. These performance metrics may help anothernetwork device determine whether it will send data to the networkdevice, or to other network devices to which the transmitted performancemetrics were related.

FIG. 20 illustrates a flow chart 2000 including another exemplaryprocess for generating and sharing performance metrics among networkdevices, in accordance with an embodiment. Step 2002 includesdetermining, by a network device on a network, a set of one or morecommunication paths with one or more additional network devices on anetwork. A network device may choose to transmit data to any of severalother network devices on, for example, the same network as the networkdevice. The network device may use information, both received by it andgenerated by it, to determine which network device to transmit the datato. Such information may include performance metrics about itself andother network devices.

Step 2004 includes receiving current performance metrics associated withthe one or more additional network devices on the network and step 2006includes generating current performance metrics associated with thenetwork device. As noted, the network device may receive, use andanalyze performance metrics associated with itself and other networkdevices, to determine which network device(s) it will transmit its datato. The network device, or another device such as a cloud networkconnected to the network device, may analyze the performance metrics tomake this determination.

Step 2008 includes determining a chosen communication path using thecurrent performance metrics associated with the one or more establishednetwork devices and the current performance metrics associated with thenetwork device. As noted, the network device may compile historicalperformance metrics over time, both related to itself and related toother devices on the network it is connected to. Such historical (andcurrent) performance metrics may be analyzed to detect patterns,averages, or other analyzed performance metrics to determine whichnetwork device the network devices wants to send its data to. Suchdeterminations may be based on its own preferences, its performance, theperformance of other network devices, and other factors. Step 2010includes transmitting a communication using the chosen communicationpath. The communication may include performance data/metrics or otherinformation. The chosen communication path may be the network devicechosen as a result of the analysis performed, either by the networkdevice or another device, as described herein.

FIG. 21 illustrates a flow chart 2100 including another exemplaryprocess for generating and sharing performance metrics among networkdevices, in accordance with an embodiment. Step 2102 includesestablishing, by a network device on a network, a set of one or morecommunication paths with one or more additional network devices on thenetwork, and step 2102 includes receiving performance metrics associatedwith the one or more additional network devices on the network. Step2106 includes determining a chosen communication path of the set ofcommunication paths based at least in part on the performance metricsassociated with the one or more established network devices on thenetwork. This determined path may be chosen based on the receivedperformance metrics and other factors related to itself and othernetwork devices. For example, the network device may take into accountits preferences and performance metrics associated with and generated byitself.

Step 2108 includes receiving updated performance metrics associated withthe one or more additional network devices on the network, and step 2110includes requesting, based at least in part on the updated performancemetrics, a reshaping of the network. The received updated performancemetrics, along with other performance metrics received or generated inthe past, may cause a network device to request a reshaping of part ofall of the network devices in the network because of its analysis of thestate of itself, other network devices, or the network as a whole. Eachnetwork device may decide to accept the reshaping, deny the reshapingfor itself or as a whole, or request a delay in the reshaping, amongother options.

Step 2112 includes determining an updated chosen communication path ofthe set of communication paths based at least in part on the updatedperformance metrics associated with the one or more established networkdevices on the network, and step 2114 includes transmitting acommunication to one of the one or more additional network devices usingthe updated chosen communication path. One or more of the steps in flowchart 2100 (or in any of flow charts 1900, 2000 or 2200) may beoptional, or may occur in different orders based on the particularembodiment at issue.

FIG. 22 illustrates a flow chart 2200 including another exemplaryprocess for generating and sharing performance metrics among networkdevices, in accordance with an embodiment. Step 2202 includes receiving,at a network device on a network, performance metrics associated with anadditional network device on the network. Step 2204 includes generatinga beacon packet including data associated with the network device. Thebeacon packet, which may be generally sent to notify other networkdevices of the existence of the transmitting network device, may be usedto transmit information as well. The beacon packet may be replaced by adifferent entity for different transmission methods.

Step 2206 includes generating performance metrics associated with thenetwork device, step 2208 includes storing the performance metricsassociated with the network device and the performance metricsassociated with the additional network device, and step 2010 includesembedding the performance metrics associated with the network devicewithin the beacon packet, such as the beacon packet generated in step2204. As noted, a beacon packet may be used to transmit information/datato other network devices, for example using empty space within thebeacon packet.

After the beacon packet includes information meant by the network deviceto be transmitted, the network device may transmit the beacon packet onthe network (e.g. to other network device(s) on the network). Thenetwork device may also receive similar beacon packets with informationfrom other network devices around the network.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a front view of a network device 2300.FIG. 24 illustrates an example of a side view of the network device2300. The network device 2300 may include any of the network devices102, 104, or 106 described herein. In some embodiments, the networkdevice 2300 may be a home automation network device. For example, thenetwork device 2300 may include a home automation switch that may becoupled with a home appliance. A user may wirelessly access the networkdevice 2300 in order to access, control, and/or configure various homeappliances located within the user's home. For instance, the user mayremotely control appliances such as a television, radio, light,microwave, iron, space heater, wall A/C unit, washer, dryer, fan, and/orthe like.

In some embodiments, the network device 2300 may include a WiFi enabledswitch that connects home appliances and other electronic devices to acompatible 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi network. The network device 2300 may thusallow users to locally or remotely turn devices on or off from anywhere,program customized notifications, and/or change device status. Thenetwork device 2300 may further allow a user to create custom schedulesor have devices respond to sunrise or sunset.

The network device 2300 includes an power switch 2302 that may bedepressed in order to turn the network device 2300 on and off. In someembodiments, a light source may be integrated with or located behind thepower switch. For example, a light-emitting diode (LED) may be locatedon a circuit board under the power button 2302. The light source may beilluminated when the network device 2300 is powered on, and may not beilluminated when the network device 2300 is powered off.

The network device 2300 further includes a communications signalindicator 2304. The signal indicator 2304 may indicate whether thenetwork device 2300 has access to a communications signal, such as aWiFi signal. For example, the signal indicator 2304 may include a lightsource (e.g., a LED) that illuminates when the network device 2300 isconnected to a communications signal. The light source may depictdifferent colors or other characteristics (e.g., flashing, dimming, orthe like) to indicate different levels of signal strength or mode ofoperation.

The network device 2300 includes a restore button 2410. The restorebutton 2410 may allow a user to reset the network device 2300 to factorydefault settings. For example, upon being depressed, the restore button2410 may cause all software on the device to be reset to the settingsthat the network device 2300 included when purchased from themanufacturer.

The network device 2300 further includes a plug 2408 and an outlet 2306.The plug 2408 allows the network device 2300 to be plugged into a wallsocket, such as a socket providing 120V, 220V, or the like. In turn, anappliance may be plugged into the outlet 2306. Once the network device2300 is registered according to the techniques described above, anappliance plugged into the socket 2306 may be controlled by a user usingan access device (e.g., access device 108).

FIG. 25 is an example of a block diagram of the network device 2300depicting different hardware and/or software components of the networkdevice 2300. As described above with respect to FIGS. 23 and 24, thenetwork device 2300 includes the outlet 2306, the plug 2408, the powerbutton 2302, the restore button 2410, and the communications signalindicator 2304. The network device 2300 also includes light source 2528associated with the power button 2302. As previously described, thelight source 2528 may be illuminated when the network device 2300 ispowered on.

The network device 2300 further includes a relay 2510. The relay 2510 isa switch that controls whether power is relayed from the plug 2408 tothe outlet 2306. The relay 2510 may be controlled either manually usingthe power button 2302 or remotely using wireless communication signals.For example, when the power button 2302 is in an ON position, the relay2510 may be closed so that power is relayed from the plug 2408 to theoutlet 2306. When the power button 2302 is in an OFF position, the relay2510 may be opened so that current is unable to flow from the plug 2408to the outlet 2306. As another example, an application or programrunning on an access device may transmit a signal that causes the relay2510 to be opened or closed. For instance, an access application maydisplay a graphical interface on the access device that includes a powerbutton. The user may tap or otherwise select the power button, and theaccess application may send a communication signal (e.g., over a WiFinetwork) to the network device 2300 instructing the network device 2300to open or close the relay 2510.

The network device 2300 further includes flash memory 2520 and dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) 2522. The flash memory 2520 may be used tostore instructions or code relating to an operating system, one or moreapplications, and any firmware. The flash memory 2520 may includenonvolatile memory so that any firmware or other program can be canupdated. In the event the network device 2300 loses power, informationstored in the flash memory 2520 may be retained. The DRAM 2522 may storevarious other types of information needed to run the network device2300, such as all runtime instructions or code.

The network device 2300 further includes a CPU/Radio 2518. The CPU/Radio2518 controls the operations of the network device 2300. For example,the CPU/Radio 2518 may execute various applications or programs storedin the flash memory 2520 and/or the dynamic random access memory (DRAM)2522. The CPU/Radio 2518 may also receive input from the varioushardware and software components, interpret the input, and perform oneor more functions in response to the input. As one example, theCPU/Radio 2518 may determine whether the power button 2302 has beenpressed, and determines whether the relay 2510 needs to be opened orclosed. The CPU/Radio 2518 may further perform all communicationsfunctions in order to allow the network device 2300 to communicate withother network devices, one or more gateways, a cloud network, and/or oneor more access devices. While the CPU and radio of the network device2300 are shown to be combined in the CPU/Radio 2518, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that, in some embodiments, the CPU andradio may be separately located within the network device 2300. Forexample, CPU circuitry may be situated at a separate location on acircuit board from the location of radio circuitry, the CPU circuitrymay be located on a different circuit board from the radio circuitry, orthe like.

The network device 2300 may communicate with other devices and/ornetworks via antenna 2524. For example, antenna 2524 may include a 2.4GHz antenna, a 5 GHz antenna, or the like, that can transmit and receiveWiFi communications signals. The antenna 2524 may include other types ofantennas that can communicate Bluetooth® signals, Zigbee® signals,Ultra-Wideband (UWB) signals, and/or the like. In some embodiments, thenetwork device 2300 may include multiple antennas for communicatingdifferent types of communication signals. As one example, the networkdevice 2300 may include both a 2.4 GHz antenna and a 5 GHz antenna.

The network device 2300 further includes a driver 2516, a switchingpower supply 2512, and a voltage regulator 2514. The driver 2516 mayinclude instructions or code that can be used to translate controlsignals or commands received from applications running on the DRAM 2522to commands that the various hardware components in the network device2300 can understand. In some embodiments, the driver 2516 may include anambient application running on the DRAM 2522. The switching power supply2512 may be used to transfer power from the outlet in which the plug2408 is connected to the various loads of the network device 2300 (e.g.,CPU/Radio 2518). The switching power supply 2512 may efficiently convertthe voltage and current characteristics of the electrical power to alevel that is appropriate for the components of the network device 2300.For example, the switching power supply 2512 may perform AC-DCconversion. In some embodiments, the switching power supply 2512 may beused to control the power that is relayed from the plug 2408 to theoutlet 2306. The voltage regulator 2514 may be used to convert thevoltage output from the switching power supply 2512 to a lower voltageusable by the CPU/Radio 2518. For example, the voltage regulator 2514may regulate the DC voltage from 5V to 3.3V.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory2520 and/or the DRAM 2522. The network device 2300 can also comprisesoftware elements (e.g., located within the memory), including, forexample, an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries,and/or other code, such as one or more application programs, which maycomprise computer programs implementing the functions provided byvarious embodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIG. 2, may be implemented ascode and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processorwithin a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructionscan be used to configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (orother device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIG. 2. The memory, such asthe flash memory 2520 and/or the DRAM 2522, may be a processor-readablememory and/or a computer-readable memory that stores software code(programming code, instructions, etc.) configured to cause aprocessor(s) within the CPU/Radio 2518 to perform the functionsdescribed. In other embodiments, one or more of the functions describedmay be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the flash memory2520 and/or the DRAM 2522. In some cases, the storage medium might beincorporated within a computer system, such as the CPU/Radio 2518. Inother embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from a computersystem (e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer withthe instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the network device 2300and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the network device 2300 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the formof executable code.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

It should be appreciated that the network device 2300 may have othercomponents than those depicted in FIGS. 24-25. Further, the embodimentshown in the figures are only one example of a network device that mayincorporate an embodiment of the invention. In some other embodiments,network device 2300 may have more or fewer components than shown in thefigure, may combine two or more components, or may have a differentconfiguration or arrangement of components.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of an access device 2600. The accessdevice 2600 may include any human-to-machine interface with networkconnection capability that allows access to a network. For example, theaccess device 2600 may include a stand-alone interface (e.g., a cellulartelephone, a smartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable devicesuch as a smart watch, a wall panel, a keypad, or the like), aninterface that is built into an appliance or other device (e.g.,television, refrigerator, security system, game console, browser, or thelike), a speech or gesture interface (e.g., Kinect™ sensor, Wiimote™, orthe like), an internet of things (IoT) device interface (e.g., anInternet enabled appliance such as a wall switch, a control interface,or the like). The access device 2600 includes hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 2618 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). In one embodiment, the bus 2618 can beused for the processor(s) 2602 to communicate between cores and/or withthe memory 2612. The hardware elements may include one or moreprocessors 2602, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, and/or the like); one or more input devices 2616, which caninclude without limitation a camera, a mouse, a keyboard, a touchsensitive screen, a touch pad, a keypad, and/or the like; and one ormore output devices 2614, which can include, without limitation, adisplay, a printer, and/or the like.

The access device 2600 may include one or more wireless transceivers2606 connected to the bus 2618. The wireless transceiver 2606 may beoperable to receive wireless signals (e.g., signal 2610) via antenna2608. The wireless signal 2610 may be transmitted via a wirelessnetwork. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be any wirelessnetwork such as a wireless local area network (e.g., local area network100), such as WiFi, a Personal Access Network (PAN), such as Bluetooth®or Zigbee®, or a cellular network (e.g. a GSM, WCDMA, LTE, CDMA2000network). Wireless transceiver 2606 may be configured to receive variousradio frequency (RF) signals (e.g., signal 2610) via antenna 2608 fromone or more gateways, network devices, other access devices, cloudnetworks, and/or the like. Access device 2600 may also be configured todecode and/or decrypt, via the DSP 2604 and/or processor(s) 2602,various signals received from one or more gateways, network devices,other access devices, cloud networks, and/or the like.

The access device 2600 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums orstorage devices (e.g., memory 2612), which can comprise, withoutlimitation, local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include,without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storagedevice, a solid-state storage device such as a random access memory(“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices may be configuredto implement any appropriate data storage, including without limitation,various file systems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory 2612,such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed by processor(s)2602 or DSP 2604. The access device 2600 can also comprise softwareelements (e.g., located within the memory 2612), including, for example,an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs, which may comprisecomputer programs implementing various functions. Memory 2612 may be anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, processor-readablememory, and/or a computer-readable memory that stores the one or morecomputer-program products configured to cause the processor(s) 2602and/or DSP 2604 to perform the various functions. In other embodiments,the various functions described may be performed in hardware.

FIG. 27 illustrates an example of a server 2700. The server 2700includes hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus2716 (or may otherwise be in communication, as appropriate). In oneembodiment, the bus 2716 can be used for the processor(s) 2702 tocommunicate between cores and/or with the memory 2712. The hardwareelements may include one or more processors 2702, including withoutlimitation one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips,graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like), memory 2712, DSP2704, a wireless transceiver 2706, a bus 2716, and antenna 2708.Furthermore, in addition to the wireless transceiver 2706, server 2700can further include a network interface 2714 to communicate with anetwork (e.g., a local area network, a network of a preferred carrier,Internet, etc.).

The server 2700 may further include (and/or be in communication with)one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums or storagedevices (e.g., memory 2712), which can comprise, without limitation,local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include, withoutlimitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storage device, asolid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/ora read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateableand/or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data storage, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or more one ormore computer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory2712. The server 2700 can also comprise software elements (e.g., locatedwithin the memory), including, for example, an operating system, devicedrivers, executable libraries, and/or other code, such as one or moreapplication programs, which may comprise computer programs implementingthe functions provided by various embodiments, and/or may be designed toimplement methods and/or configure systems, as described herein. Merelyby way of example, one or more procedures described with respect to theprocesses discussed above may be implemented as code and/or instructionsexecutable by a computer (and/or a processor within a computer); in anaspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be used to configureand/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device) to perform oneor more operations in accordance with the described methods. Suchfunctions or code may include code to perform the steps described abovewith respect to FIG. 2. The memory 2712 may be a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium, processor-readable memory, and/or acomputer-readable memory that stores the one or more computer-programproducts configured to cause the processor(s) 2702 to perform thefunctions described. In other embodiments, one or more of the functionsdescribed may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory 2712.In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporated within acomputer system. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions of one or more computer-program products might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the server 2700 and/ormight take the form of source and/or installable code, which, uponcompilation and/or installation on the server 2700 (e.g., using any of avariety of generally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of a gateway 2800. The gateway 2800 mayinclude a range extending device, a router, an access point, a modem,and/or any other device that provides network access among one or morecomputing devices and/or external networks. For example, the gateway2800 may include a router gateway with access point and routerfunctionality, and may further include an Ethernet switch and/or amodem. As another example, the gateway 2800 may include a rangeextending gateway that may be used to improve signal range and strengthwithin a network by taking an existing signal from another gateway(e.g., a router gateway, an access point, or the like) andrebroadcasting the signal to create a second logical network.

The gateway 2800 includes hardware elements that can be electricallycoupled via a bus 2818 (or may otherwise be in communication, asappropriate). In one embodiment, the bus 2818 can be used for theprocessor(s) 2802 to communicate between cores and/or with the memory2812. The hardware elements may include one or more processors 2802,including without limitation one or more general-purpose processorsand/or one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signalprocessing chips, graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like);one or more input devices 2816, which can include without limitation oneor more buttons, a keyboard, a keypad, a touch sensitive screen, a touchpad, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 2814, which caninclude, without limitation, a display, light or sound indicators,and/or the like.

The gateway 2800 may include one or more wireless transceivers 2806 and2820 connected to the bus 2818. The wireless transceiver 2806 may beoperable to receive wireless signals (e.g., a wireless signal 2810) viaan antenna 2808. The wireless transceivers 2820 may be operable toreceive wireless signals (e.g., a wireless signal 2814) via an antenna2822. The wireless transceivers 2806 and 2820 may each include a WiFitransceiver radio designed to transmit and receive signals usingfrequencies of a specific frequency band, which may be referred toherein as “WiFi circuits.” For example, wireless transceiver 2806 mayinclude a 2.4 GHz WiFi circuit, and wireless transceiver 2820 mayinclude a 5 GHz WiFi circuit. Accordingly, the gateway 2800 may includea single WiFi circuit for a first WiFi frequency band, and a single WiFicircuit for a second WiFi frequency band. In some embodiments, thegateway 2800 may include multiple wireless transceivers (not shown) foreach available frequency band. The antennas 2808 and 2822 may includemultiple band antennas that can transmit and/or receive signals overdifferent frequency bands.

The gateway 2800 may further include radio frequency (RF) circuit 2826.In some embodiments, the wireless transceivers 2806 and 2820 may beintegrated with or coupled to the RF circuit 2826 so that the RF circuit2826 includes the wireless transceivers 2806 and 2820. In someembodiments, the wireless transceivers 2806 and 2820 and the RF circuit2826 are separate components. The RF circuit 2826 may include a RFamplifier that may amplify signals received over antennas 2808 and 2822.The RF circuit 2826 may also include a power controller that may be usedto adjust signal amplification by the RF amplifier. The power controllermay be implemented using hardware, firmware, software, or anycombination thereof.

The wireless signals 2810 and 2824 may be transmitted via a wirelessnetwork. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be any wirelessnetwork such as a wireless local area network (e.g., local area network100), such as WiFi™, a Personal Access Network (PAN), such as Bluetooth®or Zigbee®, or a cellular network (e.g. a GSM, WCDMA, LTE, CDMA2000network). Wireless transceivers 2806 and 2820 may be configured toreceive various radio frequency (RF) signals (e.g., signals 2810 and2824) via antennas 2808 and 2824, respectively, from one or more othergateways, access devices, network devices, cloud networks, and/or thelike. Gateway 2800 may also be configured to decode and/or decrypt, viathe DSP 2804 and/or processor(s) 2802, various signals received from oneor more gateways, network devices, cloud networks, and/or the like.

The gateway 2800 may include a power supply (not shown) that can powerthe various components of the gateway 2800. The power supply may includea switch-mode power supply, a linear power supply, a push-pull powersupply, or any other suitable type of power supply. In some embodiments,the gateway 2800 may include multiple power supplies. For example, aswitch-mode power supply may be used to condition input power, and alinear power supply may be used to power the RF circuit 2826. The powersupply may be configured to operate over various ranges of appropriateinput voltages.

The gateway 2800 may further include (and/or be in communication with)one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums or storagedevices (e.g., memory 2812), which can comprise, without limitation,local and/or network accessible storage, and/or can include, withoutlimitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an optical storage device, asolid-state storage device such as a random access memory (“RAM”) and/ora read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable, flash-updateableand/or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement anyappropriate data storage, including without limitation, various filesystems, database structures, and/or the like.

In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or morecomputer-program products, such as instructions or code, in memory 2812,such as RAM, ROM, FLASH, or disc drive, and executed by processor(s)2802 or DSP 2804. The gateway 2800 can also comprise software elements(e.g., located within the memory 2812), including, for example, anoperating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs, which may comprisecomputer programs implementing the functions provided by variousembodiments, and/or may be designed to implement methods and/orconfigure systems, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the processes discussed above,for example as described with respect to FIG. 14, may be implemented ascode and/or instructions executable by a computer (and/or a processorwithin a computer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructionscan be used to configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (orother device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with thedescribed methods. Such functions or code may include code to performthe steps described above with respect to FIG. 14. The memory 2812 maybe a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, processor-readablememory, and/or a computer-readable memory that stores the one or morecomputer-program products configured to cause the processor(s) 2802 toperform the functions described. In other embodiments, one or more ofthe functions described may be performed in hardware.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory 2812.In some cases, the storage medium might be incorporated within acomputer system. In other embodiments, the storage medium might beseparate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions of one or more computer-program products might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the gateway 2800 and/ormight take the form of source and/or installable code, which, uponcompilation and/or installation on the gateway 2800 (e.g., using any ofa variety of generally available compilers, installation programs,compression/decompression utilities, etc.) then takes the form ofexecutable code.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further,connection to other access or computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the invention are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methodswere described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that inalternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different orderthan that described. It should also be appreciated that the methodsdescribed above may be performed by hardware components or may beembodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may beused to cause a machine, such as a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to performthe methods. These machine-executable instructions may be stored on oneor more machine readable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type ofoptical disks, floppy diskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magneticor optical cards, flash memory, or other types of machine-readablemediums suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, themethods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software.

Where components are described as being configured to perform certainoperations, such configuration can be accomplished, for example, bydesigning electronic circuits or other hardware to perform theoperation, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g.,microprocessors, or other suitable electronic circuits) to perform theoperation, or any combination thereof.

While illustrative embodiments of the application have been described indetail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may beotherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claimsare intended to be construed to include such variations, except aslimited by the prior art.

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving, at a networkdevice on a network, performance metrics associated with an additionalnetwork device on the network; generating performance metrics associatedwith the network device; storing the performance metrics associated withthe network device and the performance metrics associated with theadditional network device; and transmitting the performance metricsassociated with the network device and the performance metricsassociated with an additional network device, wherein when theperformance metrics are received, the performance metrics are used todetermine whether data will be transmitted to the network device.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at a network device ona network, updated performance metrics associated with an additionalnetwork device on the network; and generating updated performancemetrics associated with the network device.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising: storing the updated performance metrics associatedwith the network device and the updated performance metrics associatedwith the additional network device; and transmitting the updatedperformance metrics associated with the network device and the updatedperformance metrics associated with the additional network device,wherein when the updated performance metrics are received, the updatedperformance metrics are used to determine whether data will betransmitted to the network device.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein theperformance metrics associated with the network device are generated ata point in time earlier than the updated performance metrics associatedwith the network device are generated.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: generating a beacon packet including data associated withthe network; and embedding the performance metrics associated with thenetwork device within the beacon packet.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein transmitting the performance metrics associated with the networkdevice includes transmitting the beacon packet.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the performance metrics associated with the network deviceinclude reliability metrics.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein theperformance metrics associated with the network device include latencymetrics.
 9. A computing device, comprising: one or more processors; anda memory having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by theone or more processors, cause the computing device to perform operationsincluding: receiving, at a network device on a network, performancemetrics associated with an additional network device on the network;generating performance metrics associated with the network device;storing the performance metrics associated with the network device andthe performance metrics associated with the additional network device;and transmitting the performance metrics associated with the networkdevice and the performance metrics associated with an additional networkdevice, wherein when the performance metrics are received, theperformance metrics are used to determine whether data will betransmitted to the network device.
 10. The computing device of claim 9,further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the computing device to perform operations including:receiving, at a network device on a network, updated performance metricsassociated with an additional network device on the network; andgenerating updated performance metrics associated with the networkdevice.
 11. The computing device of claim 10, further comprisinginstructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, causethe computing device to perform operations including: storing theupdated performance metrics associated with the network device and theupdated performance metrics associated with the additional networkdevice; and transmitting the updated performance metrics associated withthe network device and the updated performance metrics associated withthe additional network device, wherein when the updated performancemetrics are received, the updated performance metrics are used todetermine whether data will be transmitted to the network device. 12.The computing device of claim 10, wherein the performance metricsassociated with the network device are generated at a point in timeearlier than the updated performance metrics associated with the networkdevice are generated.
 13. The computing device of claim 9, furthercomprising instructions, which when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the computing device to perform operations including:generating a beacon packet including data associated with the network;and embedding the performance metrics associated with the network devicewithin the beacon packet.
 14. The computing device of claim 9, whereintransmitting the performance metrics associated with the network deviceincludes transmitting the beacon packet.
 15. The computing device ofclaim 9, wherein the performance metrics associated with the networkdevice include reliability metrics.
 16. The computing device of claim 9,wherein the performance metrics associated with the network deviceinclude latency metrics.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by acomputing device, cause the computing device to: receive, at a networkdevice on a network, performance metrics associated with an additionalnetwork device on the network; generate performance metrics associatedwith the network device; store the performance metrics associated withthe network device and the performance metrics associated with theadditional network device; and transmit the performance metricsassociated with the network device and the performance metricsassociated with an additional network device, wherein when theperformance metrics are received, the performance metrics are used todetermine whether data will be transmitted to the network device. 18.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, furthercomprising instructions configured to cause the data processingapparatus to: receive, at a network device on a network, updatedperformance metrics associated with an additional network device on thenetwork; and generate updated performance metrics associated with thenetwork device.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumof claim 18, further comprising instructions configured to cause thedata processing apparatus to: store the updated performance metricsassociated with the network device and the updated performance metricsassociated with the additional network device; and transmit the updatedperformance metrics associated with the network device and the updatedperformance metrics associated with the additional network device,wherein when the updated performance metrics are received, the updatedperformance metrics are used to determine whether data will betransmitted to the network device.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the performancemetrics associated with the network device are generated at a point intime earlier than the updated performance metrics associated with thenetwork device are generated. 21.-24. (canceled)